UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


CASTNER    HANWAY. 


ELIJAH    LEWIS. 


TAKEN    SOON    AFTER    THE    TREASON    TRIAL 


JOSEPH    P.  SCARLET. 


THE  CHRISTIANA  RIOT 


AND 


THE  TREASON  TRIALS 
OF  1851 

AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

BY 

W.  U.  HENSEL 


WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  COMMEMORATION  OF 
THESE  EVENTS,  SEPTEMBER  9,  1911 


SECOND  AND  REVISED  EDITION. 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 
LANCASTER,  PA. 

1911 


COPYRIGHT,  1911 
BY  W.  U.  HENSEL 


PREFACE. 

The  preparation  of  this  sketch  and  contribution  to  our 
local  history  had  been  long  contemplated  by  the  Editor  and 
Compiler.    Born  near  the  locality  where  the  events  occurred 
which  are  its  subject,  he  has  been  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury intimately  related  with  their  associations.     He  has  re- 
gard for  the  integrity  of  motive  which  alike  animated  both 
parties  to  the  conflict.     It  was  a  miniature  of  the  great 
struggle  of  opposing  ideas  that  culminated  in  the  shock  of 
Civil  War,  and  was  only  settled  by  that  stern  arbiter.     He 
'  rejoices  that  what  seemed  to  be  an  irrepressible  conflict  be- 
_I  tween  Law  and  Liberty  at  last  ended  in  Peace.     To  help  to 
^perpetuate  that  condition  between  long-estranged  neighbors 
<"  and  kin,  this  offering  is  made  to  the  work  of  the  Lancaster 
p  County  Historical  Society. 

^     While  it  has  been  written  and  published  for  that  Society, 

o  no  responsibility  for  anything  it  contains  or  for  its  promulga- 

.  tion  attaches  to  any  one  except  the  author.    Where  opinions 

-are  expressed — and   they  have  been  generally   avoided   as 

2^  far  as  possible  in  disputed  matters  —  he  alone  is  responsible. 

^  Where   facts   are   stated,   except  upon  authority  expressly 

^named,  he  accepts  the  risk  of  refutation.    In  all  cases  he  has 

.tried  to  ascertain  and  to  tell  the  exact  truth.    He  worked  in 

no  other  spirit  and  for  no  other  purpose ;  and  wherein  he  has 

failed  his  is  all  the  blame. 

W.  U.  H. 

"BLEAK  HOUSE," 

August  12,  1911. 


iii 


154838 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L    INTRODUCTORY. 

Bibliography  of  the  Subject— A  Study  of  It  from  the  Southern  Stand- 
point— The  Testimony  of  Surviving  Witnesses — Basis  for  Romantic 
Literature,  1-4. 

CHAPTER  II.    THE  LAW  OF  THE  LAND. 

The  Early  Compromises  of  the  Constitution  —  Pennsylvania's  Move 
Toward  Abolition  —  The  Act  of  1826  —  The  Prigg  Case  —  Border 
Troubles  —  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  —  Wrongs  of  Escaped 
Slaves  and  Rights  of  Their  Owners,  5-12. 

CHAPTER  III.    CONDITIONS  ALONG  THE  BORDER. 

On  the  Different  Sides  of  Mason  and  Dixon  Line  —  Conflicts  of  Ideas 
and  of  Citizenship  —  Lower  Lancaster  County  a  Gateway  —  Terror 
of  the  "Gap  Gang"  —  The  Underground  Railway  —  Outrages  by 
the  Slave  Catchers  and  Kidnappers,  13-19. 

CHAPTER  IV.    THE  ESCAPE  AND  PURSUIT  or  THE  SLAVES. 

The  Gorsuch  Homestead  and  Its  Proprietor  —  An  Old  and  Prominent 
Maryland  Family  —  The  Runaways  Absent  for  Nearly  Two  Years 
Before  They  were  Pursued  — The  Warrants  and  Attempted  Exe- 
cution, 20-26. 

CHAPTER  V.    THE  DEFENSE  AND  DEFENDERS. 

William  Parker  and  His  Home  —  A  Leader  of  His  Race  and  Class  — 
The  Hero  of  the  Fugitive  Slaves  and  the  Champion  of  Their  Resist-  - 
ance  to  Recapture— The  Night  Before  the  Fight,  27-29. 

CHAPTER  VI.    THE  FIGHT. 

The  Challenge  to  Surrender  and  the  Defiance  —  A  Long  Parley  —  The 
Prompt  Response  to  a  Call  for  Aid  —  The  Firing  Begins  —  Flight  of 
Kline  and  his  Deputies  —  Gorsuch  is  Killed  and  his  Son  Terribly 
Wounded,  30-39. 


VI  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

CHAPTER  VII.    THE  "PURSUIT"  AND  ARRESTS. 

Federal  and  State  Authorities  in  Conflict  —  "Rough  Riding"  the 
Valley  —  Numerous  and  Indiscriminate  Arrests  —  Hearings  in  Lan- 
caster and  Committals  to  Philadelphia,  40-45. 

CHAPTER  VIII.    THE  POLITICAL  AFTERMATH. 

Partisans  Quick  to  Make  Capital  out  of  the  Occurrence  —  The  Demo- 
crats Aggressive  —  The  "Silver  Grays"  Apologetic,  and  the  "Woolly 
Heads"  on  the  Defensive  —  Effect  of  the  Christiana  Incident  on  the 
October  Elections,  46-54. 

CHAPTER  IX.    BEFORE  THE  TRIAL. 

Popular  Discussion  Precedes  the  Arraignment  —  Legal  Questions  Raised 
by  Eminent  Lawyers  —  Judge  Kane  takes  High  Ground  Against 
Treason — The  Selection  of  the  Jury — A  Representative  Panel,  55-60. 

CHAPTER  X.    "THE  TREASON  TRIALS." 

Differences  of  Opinion  Among  Counsel  for  the  Government  —  A  Bril- 
liant Array  of  Lawyers — Selecting  Twelve  Men,  "Good  and  True," 
from  a  Large  Venire — The  Prisoners  Arraigned  and  Pleas  Entered, 
Trial  and  Acquittal,  61-91. 

CHAPTER  XI.    THE  LATER  TRIALS. 

Legal  Proceedings  in  Lancaster  County  —  Prisoners  Remanded  to  Local 
Jurisdiction  —  President  Fillmore  'a  Message  —  Attorney  General 
Brent's  Report  —  Final  Disposition  of  the  Cases  in  the  Lancaster 
County  Court  —  "Sam"  Williams  Tried  in  Philadelphia  and 
Acquitted,  92-100. 

CHAPTER  XII.    PARKER'S  OWN  STORY. 

The  Leader  of  the  Defenders  Tells  his  Story  of  what  Occurred  at  "the 
Riot"  —  The  Author  Gives  Reasons  why  He  takes  the  Narrative  with 
Some  Allowance — A  Valuable  Historical  Contribution,  101-125. 

CHAPTER  XIII.    AFTER  THE  WAR. 

Peter  Woods  the  Sole  Survivor  —  Castner  Hanway's  Later  Days  —  The 
Descendants  and  Relatives  of  the  Principal  Actors  in  the  Drama  — 
Concluding  Reflections  on  the  Affair,  126-134. 

ADDENDA.    SUPPLEMENTAL  NOTES. 

The  Pennsylvania-German  and  the  Negro  —  Parker 's  Military  Record  — 
The  Venue  in  Treason,  135 — Speling  of  Names  —  Parker's  Revisit 


CONTENTS.  V 

in  1872  — Lincoln  a  Defender  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  — Peter 
Smith's  Recollections,  136  —  Francis  Lennox's  Story  —  Dr.  Mc- 
Gowan  's  Recollections,  137  —  Elizabeth  Pownall  Steele  —  Burleigh  — 
The  Jurors'  Weight  —  The  Kennedy  Case  —  Higginson's  Correction, 
138  —  Whittier's  Poem  to  the  Prisoners,  142  —  "Sixty  Tears  After," 
T.  Lyman  Windolph,  Mary  N.  Robinson,  143. 

POLITICAL  CORRESPONDENCE. 

An  Address  to  Gov.  Johnston  —  His  Reply  —  The  Democratic  Bejoinder 
—  Governor  Lowe  to  President  Fillmore,  145-151. 

THE   COMMEMORATION. 

The  Exercises  at  Christiana  Sixty  Years  After  —  Addresses  by  Promi- 
nent Public  Men  —  A  Great  Popular  Demonstration  —  Dedication  of 
the  Monument  —  Presentation  of  Medals  —  The  Committees,  152-158. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Castner  Hanway,  Elijah  Lewis  and  Joseph  Scarlet Frontispiece 

Dickinson  Gorsuch   facing  page  6 

An  Old  Southern  Cook  "  "  12 

"Betreat  Farm,"  Home  of  the  Gorsuches "  "  16 

The  Gorsuch  Corn  House "  "  18 

The  Old  Eiot  House.    William  Parker 's  Home "  "  32 

A  Southern  Visitor "  "  36 

Castner  Hanway   "  "  40 

"After  the  War"— A  Southern  "Mammy" "  "  48 

The  Grave  of  Edward  Gorsuch * '  "  54 

Hon.  John  K.  Kane "  "  56 

"Zeke"   Thompson    60 

John  W.  Ashmead  "  "  62 

Thaddeus  Stevens "  "  86 

Letter  from  William  H.  Seward  to  John  W.  Ashmead  ..  "  "  94 

"At  Home,"  Peter  Woods,  aged  80 "  "  154 

The  Memorial  Monument   .                                                  .  "  "  156 


THE  CHRISTIANA  RIOT. 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 

I  propose  to  write  the  history  of  the  so-called  "  Christiana 
Riot"  and  "Treason  Trials"  of  1851,  as  they  occurred  — 
without  partiality,  prejudice  or  apology,  for  or  against  any 
of  those  who  participated  in  them.  As  is  inevitable  in  all 
such  collisions,  there  were,  on  either  side  of  the  border 
troubles  of  that  period,  men  of  high  principle  and  right 
motive  and  also  rowdies  and  adventurers,  disposed  to  resort 
to  ruthless  violence  for  purposes  of  sordid  gain.  There  were 
slave-masters  who  sincerely  believed  in  the  righteousness  of 
an  institution  of  ancient  origin,  while  even  the  more  saga- 
cious of  their  class  recognized  it  as  at  variance  with  the 
divine  law  and  the  trend  of  Christian  civilization,  and  in- 
evitably doomed  to  extinction.  There  were  on  this  side  of 
the  line  many  who,  believing  themselves  humanitarians,  were 
mere  mischievous  agitators,  lawless  in  deed  and  treasonable 
in  design,  reckless  of  those  rights  of  property  which  are  as 
sacred  in  regard  of  the  law  as  the  rights  of  man.  There  were, 
too,  in  the  North  wicked  slave  catchers  and  kidnappers  whose 
brutalities  aroused  the  just  resentment  of  the  communities 
in  which  they  operated,  even  when  they  kept  within  the 
limits  of  strict  and  technical  legal  rights. 

It  was  of  course  impossible,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  pointed  out, 
for  the  republic  to  endure  forever  half  slave  and  half  free 
—  to  run  a  geographical  marker  through  a  great  and  compli- 
cated moral,  economic  and  political  issue  —  especially  in 
1  1 


2  THE     CHRISTIANA     KIOT. 

view  of  the  far  flung  border  line  and  the  rapidly  increasing 
development  of  communication  and  transmission. 

If,  however,  all  the  great  statesmen,  economists  and 
churchmen  who  had  struggled  with  the  slavery  question 
since  the  formation  of  the  Union  were  unable  to  solve  it, 
without  the  awful  carnage  of  a  tremendous  and  long  lasting 
civil  war,  can  it  be  the  cause  of  special  wonder  that  a  hand- 
ful of  Marylanders  in  lawful  search  of  their  escaped  prop- 
erty, and  a  larger  group  of  free  and  fugitive  negroes,  with 
the  "embattled  farmers"  who  sympathized  with  them, 
should  have  made  the  hills  of  this  peaceful  Chester  Valley 
echo  with  gun  shots  and  stained  its  soil  with  blood,  when 
Man  and  Master  met  in  final  and  fatal  contest  for  what  each 
had  been  taught  was  his  right? 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  publish  reports  of 
this  incident  which  would  serve  the  purposes  of  permanent 
history ;  and,  while  they  have  all  been  helpful,  none  has  been 
complete.  On  his  return  to  Maryland  after  his  failure  to 
convict  Hanway  and  the  others  of  treason,  Attorney  General 
Robert  J.  Brent,  of  Maryland,  made  an  elaborate  official 
report  to  Governor  E.  Louis  Lowe,  who  in  turn  submitted 
it,  with  extended  comments  of  his  own,  to  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Maryland,  January  7,  1852.  From  the  stand- 
point of  the  lawyer  and  the  chief  executive  of  a  slave  state, 
both  are  able  deliverances.  Aroused  by  their  version  of  the 
affair,  and  especially  by  their  comments  on  the  treason  trial, 
and  impatient  over  the  delay  in  publishing  the  official  report 
of  it,  W.  Arthur  Jackson,  junior  counsel  for  the  defendant, 
printed  a  pamphlet  review  of  it,  which  shows  much  ability, 
has  great  value  and  has  become  very  rare.  The  official  pho- 
nographic report  of  the  trial,  by  James  J.  Robbins,  of  the 
Philadelphia  bar  (King  &  Baird,  1852),  is  of  course  a 
copious  fountain  of  exact  information  —  as  well  as  an  inter- 
esting exhibit  of  the  "  reportorial "  efficiency  of  that  day. 
From  all  of  these  I  have  felt  at  liberty  to  draw  largely. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


"A    True    StOry    0*    tJF    rilir^flTia    T?iW  "    >»y    T)flv^    R. 

Forbes,  1898,  tinged  with  sectional  prejudice,  has  much 
matter  that  was  well  worthy  of  preservation,  and  the  new 
facts  it  contains,  if  verified,  I  have  freely  used.  All  of  the 
general  political  histories  of  the  period  refer  to  the  Christi- 
ana tragedy  as  having  significance  in  the  intense  agitation 
of  the  issue  raised  by  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850.  Fred. 
Douglass'  stories  of  his  life  and  time;  William  Still's 
"Underground  Railroad,"  and  Dr.  R.  C.  Smedley's  "His- 
tory of  the  Underground  Railroad  "  have  also  been  subjects 
of  my  levy  for  aid.  To  them,  however,  have  been  added 
the  personal  reminiscences  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Houston,  Thomas 
Whitson,  Esq.,  Ambrose  Pownall,  Charles  Dingee,  Gilbert 
Bushong,  Peter  Woods,  William  P.  Brinton,  Cyrus  Brinton 
and  many  other  residents  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  the 
riot  occurred  and  from  which  the  prisoners  in  the  trials  for 
life  were  taken.  Access  has  been  had  to  the  diaries  and 
family  records  of  the  Pownall,  Hanway,  Lewis  and  Gorsuch 
families;  and  many  other  original  sources  of  information, 
including  the  local  and  metropolitan  newspapers  of  that  day, 
whose  enterprise  and  impartiality  were  somewhat  variable. 
Some  of  them  published  full  reports  of  the  trial. 

For  the  first  time,  however,  I  think,  the  subject  has  been 
studied  with  some  care  and  consideration  for  the  facts  as 
disclosed  and  from  the  point  of  view  occupied  at  the  home  of 
the  Gorsuches.  The  family  of  Dr.  F.  G.  Mitchell,  whose 
wife  is  a  daughter  of  Dickinson  Gorsuch,  and  who  now  owns 
the  property  then  of  her  grandfather,  Edward  Gorsuch, 
from  which  the  slaves  fled,  have  been  especially  gracious  and 
helpful,  withal  fair  and  generous  in  their  attitude  toward  an 
event  which  brought  brutal  death  to  one  ancestor  and  long 
suffering  to  another. 

J.  Wesley  Knight,  long  resident  of  the  neighborhood  of 
Monkton  and  Glencoe,  Maryland,  and  who  was  under  the 
roof  of  the  Gorsuch  homestead  when  the  slaves  escaped,  has 


4  THE     CHRISTIANA     KIOT. 

given  me  much  accurate  information  as  to  their  previous 
condition  of  servitude. 

If  their  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  encounter  and 
the  events  preceding  it  presents  the  relation  of  the  Southern- 
ers to  it  in  a  far  more  favorable  light  than  has  hitherto 
attended  its  narration,  no  fair-minded  student  of  history  can 
object  to  the  whole  truth,  even  at  this  late  day.  That -the  Gor- 
such  runaways  were  not  heroic  and  scarcely  even  pictur- 
esque characters;  and  that  their  owners  were  humane  and 
Christian  people,  and  not  the  brutal  slave  traders  and  cruel 
taskmasters  who  figured  in  much  of  the  anti-slavery  fiction, 
can  no  longer  be  doubted.  But  if  the  Lancaster  County 
Historical  Society  exists  for  any  purpose  it  is  illustrated  in 
its  apt  motto:  "History  herself  as  seen  in  her  own  work- 
shop." Every  such  shop  must  show  some  chips  and  filings ; 
and  occasionally  the  more  these  abound  the  better  will  be 
the  craftsman's  product.  I  cannot  hope  —  and  I  certainly 
do  not  desire  —  this  should  be  the  "  last  word "  about  the 
"  Christiana  Riot " ;  but  the  occasion  of  its  Sixtieth  Anni- 
versary and  the  Commemoration  seemed  to  call  for  a  his- 
torical review  up  to  date ;  and  the  story  of  its  few  survivors 
had  to  be  caught  before  it  was  lost. 

It  may  be  confidently  predicted  that  when  our  long-looked- 
for  local  Stronghand  in  imaginative  literature  shall  seek  for 
a  theme  near  at  home,  he  will  find  it  in  the  dramatic  story 
of  the  "Christiana  Riot";  or  when  some  gifted  Lancaster 
County  Son  of  Song  shall  arise  and  strike  the  trembling 
harp  strings,  the  scene  of  his  epic  will  follow  the  winding 
Octoraro  and  lie  along  the  track  of  the  Fugitive  Slave. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  LAW  OF  THE  LAND. 

The  Early  Compromises  of  the  Constitution  —  Pennsylvania's  Move 
Toward  Abolition  —  The  Act  of  1826  —  The  Prigg  Case  —  Border 
Troubles  —  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  —  Wrongs  of  Escaped 
Slaves  and  Eights  of  Their  Owners. 

It  is  entirely  unnecessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  par- 
ticular story  to  enlarge  upon,  or  to  review  at  length,  the  long 
debate,  the  innumerable  compromises,  the  many  makeshifts 
and  the  unending  controversies  which  attended  the  discus- 
sion of  the  slavery  question  from  the  agitation  and  adoption 
of  the  Federal  Constitution  to  the  enactment  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  of  1850  —  and  which  then  left  it  utterly  unsettled. 
It  is,  however,  important  that  a  few  plain  landmarks  of  the 
law  be  kept  in  sight  to  guide  one  who  would  fitly  study  the 
general  history  of  the  times  and  fairly  estimate  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  local  events  to  be  narrated. 

The  Union  of  the  States  was  only  effected  by  the  adoption 
of  Art.  IV ;  the  general  purpose  of  which  was  to  require  each 
State  to  give  full  faith  and  credit  to  the  public  acts  and 
records  of  other  States.  The  exact  language  of  its  third  sec- 
tion was : 

"  No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State,  under 
the  Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  Conse- 
quence of  any  Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from 
such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  Claim 
of  the  Party  to  whom  such  Service  or  Labour  may  be  due." 

No  union  could  have  been  effected  without  this  agreement. 
Whether  that  federation  was  a  contract  from  which  any 
party  to  it  could  retire,  for  a  violation  of  it  by  other  parties 
thereto,  need  not  be  discussed  here.  The  affirmative  of  that 

5 


0  THE     CHEISTIANA     RIOT. 

proposition  was  not  the  creed  of  any  particular  party  or 
section.  It  was  originally  maintained  by  New  England 
Federalists;  it  was  later  defended  by  Southern  Democrats; 
it  was  at  last  decided  adversely  in  battle  and  by  the  sword. 
While  there  is  now  general  acquiescence  in  the  result,  the 
final  decision  was  not  the  prevailing  doctrine  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  1851. 

Under  the  Constitution  the  Right  to  Reclaim  the  fugitive 
slave  was  no  more  unmistakable  than  the  Duty  to  Return 
him.  The  Law  of  the  Land  gave  to  each  State  the  right  to 
regulate  its  own  domestic  institutions;  and  that  right  was 
expressly  recognized  and  guaranteed  even  by  the  Republican 
party  and  by  Abraham  Lincoln  long  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War.  The  slavery  questions  upon  which  political 
parties  differed  up  to  1851  were  not  disputes  as  to  the  rights 
of  slave  owners  and  slaves  in  Slave  States;  nor  as  to  the 
rights  of  slave  owners  against  their  escaped  slaves  in  Free 
States,  but  as  to  the  extension/  of  slavery  and  the  status  of 
the  institution  in  the  National  territories. 

The  prevailing  popular  misapprehension  on  this  subject 
may  be  easily  pardoned  when  it  is  observed  that  so  eminent 
an  authority  as  Oswald  Garrison  Villard,  in  his  recent  excel- 
lent biography  of  John  Brown,  says  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
of  1850  "  made  legal  in  the  North  the  rendition  of  negroes 
who  had  found  their  way  to  Free  States."  That  proposition 
was  recognized  by  all  political  parties  from  1793  to  1863. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Act  of  1793  was  passed  in  strict  con- 
formity with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States;  and  it 
impressed  upon  the  executive  authorities  of  the  several  States 
the  duty  of  arrest,  and  upon  their  magistrates  the  obliga- 
tion to  hear  and  commit  the  fugitives  for  return.  That  act 
was  generally  recognized  as  just  in  its  essence  and  object. 
As  late  as  1850  even  the  Free  Soil  party  assented  to  the 
legal  principle  it  involved.  In  execution,  however,  its  pro- 
cesses were  greatly  abused;  unlawful  seizures,  unwarranted 


DICKINSON  GORSUCH. 

DANGEROUSLY    WOUNDED    IN    THE    RIOT 


THE     LAW     OP    THE    LAND.  < 

reclamations  and  ruthless  kidnappings  were  common  occur- 
rences in  the  lower  parts  of  the  Border  States  along  the  line 
of  Slavery  and  Freedom.  Pennsylvania,  after  respectful 
hearing  of  the  Maryland  Commissioners  and  due  considera- 
tion for  their  suggestions,  enacted  the  Act  of  1826,  which 
made  the  State  Courts  the  arbiters  of  claims  to  fugitives; 
forbade  justices  to  exercise  these  powers ;  and,  in  the  line  of 
Pennsylvania's  movements  since  1780  to  extinguish  slavery 
and  protect  free  persons,  it  made  the  free-born  children  of 
escaped  slaves  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  put  them  under 
its  protection. 

This  legislation  accorded  with  judicial  decisions  of  the 
highest  court  in  Pennsylvania.  In  Commonwealth  v.  Hallo- 
way,  2  S.  &  R,  305  (1816),  Mary,  a  negro  slave  of  James 
Course  of  Maryland,  absconded  from  her  master  and  came 
to  Philadelphia,  where,  after  she  had  resided  for  about  two 
years,  her  child  Eliza  was  born.  It  was  held  that  under  the 
Act  of  March  1,  1780,  which  Pennsylvania  passed  "  for  the 
gradual  abolition  of  slavery,"  this  child,  born  as  she  was, 
was  entitled  to  freedom;  that  the  provision  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  for  the  return  of  a  slave  from  one  state  "  escap- 
ing into  another,"  did  not  apply  to  the  free-born  child  of  a 
fugitive,  and  that  even  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  the  child  Eliza  was  born  free.  Justice  Gibson  filed 
a  concurring  opinion,  at  the  -conclusion  of  which  he  said : 
"Whether  this  case  is  to  be  considered  a  hard  one  or  not 
will  depend  much  upon  the  temper  with  which  the  mind 
may  contemplate  the  positive  and  artificial  rights  of  the 
master  over  the  mother,  on  the  one  hand,  or  on  the  other  the 
natural  rights  of  her  child." 

After  the  Act  of  1826  the  border  troubles,  especially  be- 
tween York  and  Lancaster  Counties,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Cecil,  Harford  and  Baltimore  Counties,  Maryland,  were 
much  intensified.  Mason  and  Dixon  line  was  the  imaginary 
demarcation  between  two  wholly  antagonistic  social  and  po- 


THE     CHEISTIANA     EIOT. 

litical  orders.  The  same  person  might  be  a  Maryland  slave 
under  Maryland  law  and  a  Pennsylvania  freeman  under 
Pennsylvania  law.  Owners  and  agents,  armed  with  Mary- 
land authority  to  reclaim  property,  made  theirs  by  Maryland 
law,  were  felonious  kidnappers  in  Pennsylvania.  The  anoma- 
lous condition  of  affairs  and  the  legal  difficulties  arising 
out  of  it  are  best  illustrated  by  actual  facts.  A  slave  woman 
escaped  from  her  owner,  James  S.  Mitchell,  of  Cecil  County, 
Maryland,  in  1845.  During  her  absence,  as  a  fugitive  from 
his  service,  she  had  given  birth  in  New  Jersey  to  an  illegiti- 
mate child.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  agents,  residing 
in  Pennsylvania,  Mitchell  apprehended  the  woman,  who 
together  with  the  child,  had  been  delivered  to  him  at 
Elkton,  in  Cecil  County.  The  woman  was  taken  in  Penn- 
sylvania by  George  F.  Alberti  and  James  Frisby.  These 
agents,  themselves  fearing  to  incur  possible  responsibilities, 
had  repeatedly  refused  to  take  the  child  with  the  mother; 
until  finally  overcome  by  the  entreaties  of  the  mother  her- 
self, they  yielded  to  their  feelings  of  benevolence,  and  as- 
sumed the  risk.  They  were  arrested  for  kidnapping;  evi- 
dence to  show  their  motives  in  including  the  child  in  the 
return  was  excluded,  and  they  were  sentenced  to  long  terms 
in  the  penitentiary  —  for  permitting  it  to  accompany  the 
mother,  whose  own  recapture  and  return  by  them  were  ad- 
mittedly lawful.  The  state  of  the  record  of  the  case  was  such 
that  it  could  not  be  appealed  to  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court.  Mitchell  himself,  who  had  not  even  been  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  indicted  here  for  kidnapping  the  child  and  was 
subject  to  seven  years  in  the  penitentiary.  The  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  issued,  and  the  Governor  of  Maryland  declined 
to  honor,  a  requisition  for  him.  There  were  many  other 
cases  of  which  this  was  a  type. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  unquestionably  well-authen- 
ticated cases  of  slaves  returned  in  violation  of  their  legal 
claims  and  of  free  negroes  brutally  kidnapped  and  remorse- 


THE     LAW     OF     THE     LAND.  9 

lessly  sold  to  slavery  without  a  fair  hearing  and  adjudication 
of  their  rights.  The  offenders  were  often  protected  by  legal 
technicalities,  obstructions  or  difficulties,  and  by  friendly 
jurisdictions  North  or  South. 

A  case  pregnant  with  great  legal  and  political  conse- 
quences finally  arose  under  the  conflicting  claims  of  Mary- 
land and  Harford  County  on  one  side  and  Pennsylvania  and 
York  County  on  the  other.  It  reached  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  the  contest  was  a  momentous  battle 
in  the  campaign  of  pro-  and  anti-slavery  agitation.  Lawyers 
will  find  it  fully  reported  in  16  Peters,  U.  S.,  539  (1842)  : 

Edward  Prigg,  a  citizen  of  Harford  County,  Maryland, 
together  with  Nathan  S.  Bemis,  Jacob  Forward  and  Stephen 
Lewis,  Jr.,  were  indicted  in  York  County,  Pennsylvania, 
O.  and  T.,  for  kidnapping  an  alleged  free  child  of  Margaret 
Morgan,  in  violation  of  the  Pennsylvania  law  of  1826,  which 
made  it  a  felony,  punishable  with  from  seven  to  twenty- 
one  years  imprisonment  at  hard  labor,  to  carry  off,  sell  or 
detain  a  free  negro  from  Pennsylvania.  Prigg  was  the 
agent — and  the  others  his  assistants — of  Margaret  Ash- 
more,  owner  of  Margaret  Morgan,  who  escaped  from  her 
and  fled  to  Pennsylvania  in  1832.  Her  children,  taken  back 
to  Maryland  by  Prigg,  were  born  in  Pennsylvania  —  one  of 
them  more  than  a  year  after  she  escaped.  Under  Pennsyl- 
vania law  they  were  free ;  under  Maryland  law  and  the 
common  law  principle  that  "the  brood  follows  the  dam" 
they  were  slaves.*  To  avert  the  disastrous  results  that 
always  follow  a  conflict  of  laws  between  neighbors,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Maryland  agreed  that  the  facts  should  be  the 
subject  of  a  special  verdict,  so  that  after  Prigg*s  conviction 
and  sentence  his  case  might  be  heard  and  the  issue  it  in- 
volved be  determined  by  the  highest  Federal  Court  of  final 
jurisdiction  and  of  last  resort. 

*  The  rule  of  the  civil  law  partus  sequitur  ventrem,  formerly  pre- 
vailed in  re  domestic  slavery.—!  Dall.  167. 


10 


THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 


The  United  States  Supreme  Court  held  that  the  Federal 
Constitution  self-executed  its  provisions;  that  the  owner  of 
a  fugitive  slave  could  retake  him  wherever  found;  and  that 
the  National  government  —  not  the  State  governments  — 
must  support  and  enforce  this  right ;  that  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  of  1793  recognized  this  and  left  nothing  on  the  subject 
to  State  regulation.  But  the  Court  doubted  whether  State 
magistrates  or  officials  were  bound  to  perform  any  duty  im- 
posed upon  them  in  this  respect  by  a  Federal  law;  and  the 
State  statute  under  which  Prigg  was  indicted  was  held  to 
be  unconstitutional  and  void. 

In  the  discussion  Meredith  and  Hambley  appeared  for 
Prigg,  and  virtually  for  Maryland.  For  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania  appeared  Attorney  General  Ovid  F.  John- 
son (under  Governor  D.  R.  Porter)  ;  and  he  frankly  stated 
that  the  real  and  substantial  parties  to  the  controversy  were 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  whose  officials  came  into  that 
high  Court  "to  terminate  disputes  and  contentions  which 
were  arising  and  had  for  years  arisen  along  the  border  line 
between  them  on  this  subject  of  the  escape  and  delivering 
up  of  fugitive  slaves.  Neither  party  sought  the  defeat  or 
the  humiliation  of  the  other.  It  was  for  the  triumph  of 
the  law  they  presented  themselves  before  the  Court.  They 
were  engaged  under  an  imperative  sense  of  duty  in  the 
work  of  peace ;  and  he  hoped  he  would  be  pardoned  if  he 
added  of  patriotism  also." 

Story,  of  Massachusetts,  delivered  the  Court's  opinion.  He 
had  been  appointed  by  Madison,  served  a  long  time  on  the 
bench  and  was  a  jurist  of  high  renown;  but  Taney,  C.  J., 
while  concurring  in  the  judgment,  expressly  dissented  from 
the  doctrine  that  the  State  authorities  were  "  prohibited  from 
interfering  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  rights  of  the 
master  and  aiding  him  in  the  recovery  of  his  property."  He 
thought  the  contrary  to  be  not  only  the  right,  but  the  duty 
of  the  State.  The  Federal  Constitution  meant  this  when 


THE    LAW    OF    THE    LAND.  11 

it  declared  "the  fugitive  shall  be  given  up."  He  predicted 
that  if  the  State  officials  under  the  State  laws  could  not 
arrest  the  fugitive,  "  the  territory  of  the  State  must  soon  be- 
come an  open  pathway  for  the  fugitives  escaping  from  other 
States."  Justices  Baldwin  and  Thompson  concurred  with 
Taney;  Wayne  with  Story,  and  also  Daniel,  filing  opinions. 
McLean  held  that  Congress  might  prescribe  the  duty  of 
State  officers.  All  seven  Justices  expressed  separate  opin- 
ions. 

Taney's  forecast  was  right.  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
—  especially  the  southeastern  counties  of  this  State  —  soon 
became  an  open  pathway  for  the  fugitive  slaves.  Their 
track  was  lighted  from  many  a  window  in  the  households 
of  the  Chester  Valley;  and  two  main  lines  of  the  Under- 
ground Railroad  ran  through  Lancaster  County,  close  to 
where  the  two  lines  of  the  great  steam  railway  which  tra- 
verses it  from  east  to  west  are  now  located. 

Acquiescing  in  this  decision  Pennsylvania,  in  1847,  re- 
pealed the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1826  repugnant  to  the 
Federal  Constitution;  and  remanded  the  whole  subject  to 
Congress.  Like  legislation  in  other  States  left  the  slave- 
holders stripped  of  the  remedies  they  claimed  under  the 
Constitution.  Hence  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850,  with 
its  more  drastic  processes,  manifold  deputies  marshal,  "  posse 
comitatus"  of  the  bystanders,  penalties  for  obstruction  of 
processes  and  many  other  provisions  —  which  if  they  had 
been  tolerable  under  the  conditions  prevailing  long  after 
1793,  had  now  become  odious  to  the  largely  increased  and 
rapidly  increasing  number  of  persons  who  were  opposed  to 
all  forms  of  slavery,  regardless  of  its  constitutional  protec- 
tion or  right  at  law. 

For  this  class  Lancaster  County's  then  representative  in 
Congress,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  was  the  boldest  and  most  aggres- 
sive spokesman.  When,  in  1851,  he  denounced  every  form 
of  human  slavery  he  was  so  far  in  advance  of  his  party  (Whig 


12  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

then  and  Republican  ten  years  later)  that  in  1861  a  Repub- 
lican Congress,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  the 
first  Free  Soil  Candidate  for  Vice  President,  heading  the 
"  Ayes,"  by  an  overwhelming  vote  declared  that  all  attempts 
of  the  States  to  override  or  obstruct  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
were  unconstitutional  and  "  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the 
Union  " ;  that  all  enactments  to  that  end  should  be  repealed 
and  there  was  no  authority  outside  of  a  State  wherein  then 
existed  a  right  "to  interfere  with  slaves  or  slavery  in  such 
States,  in  disregard  of  the  rights  of  their  owners  or  the  peace 
of  society." 


AN   OLD  SOUTHERN   COOK. 

SLAVE    AND    SERVANT    IN    THE    GORSUCH    FAMILY.       MORE    THAN    100    YEARS    OLD. 


CHAPTEK  III. 

CONDITIONS  ALONG  THE  BORDER. 

On  the  Different  Sides  of  Mason  and  Dixon  Line  —  Conflicts  of  Ideas 
and  of  Citizenship  —  Lower  Lancaster  County  a  Gateway  —  Terror 
of  the  ' '  Gap  Gang ' '  —  The  Underground  Eailway  —  Outrages  by 
the  Slave  Catchers  and  Kidnappers. 

Formal  legislation  and  statutory  enactments  could  not 
repress  the  instincts  of  humanity.  Involuntary  bondage  of 
men,  women  and  children  was  not  consistent  with  either  the 
spirit  of  free  institutions  or  the  instincts  of  a  progressive 
citizenship.  As  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  reckless  and 
degenerate  men  from  abusing  the  processes  of  the  law  by 
kidnapping  and  other  forms  of  crime  against  the  colored 
race;  and  as  it  was  impossible  for  the  most  humane  and 
philanthropic  elements  of  slaveholding  citizenship  to  pre- 
vent constantly  recurring  barbarities  and  horrors  resulting 
logically  from  the  legal  recognition  of  property  and  traffic 
in  human  flesh  and  blood,  so  it  was  impossible  to  forbid 
thousands  of  good  men  and  women  throughout  the  North  — 
in  all  other  respects  law-abiding  people  —  to  secretly  aid 
and  even  to  publicly  promote  the  escape  of  slaves  fleeing 
from  slavery.  Nor  could  those  who  thus  kept  their  con- 
science while  they  broke  the  law  discriminate  between  the 
worthy  and  the  unworthy  in  slave  or  master.  There  was  no 
time  in  the  quick  trips  between  the  stations  of  the  Under- 
ground Railway  to  ascertain  with  precision  whether  the 
passenger  was  fleeing  from  just  or  unjust  treatment,  whether 
he  had  the  character  of  a  criminal  escaping  deserved  punish- 
ment, or  of  a  bondman  aspiring  to  a  condition  of  freedom; 
nor  to  judge  and  determine  the  individual  merits  and  the 
legal  rights  of  the  owner.  Behind  lay  Slavery  —  beyond 
blazed  the  North  Star  of  Freedom. 

13 


14  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

Lower  Lancaster  County  was  at  the  gateway  of  this  path. 
For  a  comparatively  short  distance  —  only  about  five  miles 
— the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  forms  its  Southern  boundary. 
Only  two  of  its  townships  are  in  contact  with  Maryland,  Ful- 
ton and  Little  Britain,  and  the  last  named  barely  touched 
the  edge  of  the  Southland  of  Slavery.  In  its  citizenship 
Lancaster  County  represented  all  the  principal  elements 
which  enter  into  our  composite  commonwealth.  The  more 
numerous  and  important  strain  of  blood,  occupying  the  wider 
and  richer  upper  domain,  was  composed  very  largely  of  the 
so-called  Pennsylvania  German  sect  and  church  people,  who 
had  little  fellowship  with  the  negro  race,  little  interest  in  or 
sympathy  with  its  cause  and  very  slight  personal  contact 
with  its  members.  In  the  lower  townships  the  principal 
elements  were  the  so-called  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian  and  the 
Friends;  between  them  there  was  considerable  friction,  if 
not  antagonism;  they  had  for  nearly  a  century  represented 
different  views  of  society  and  government.  Their  variance 
was  very  distinct  in  their  respective  early  attitudes  toward 
"  the  Indian  question." 

It  has  been  made  the  subject  of  forcible  contrast  that  the 
prevailing  Quaker  settlement  of  Fulton  and  Western  Dru- 
more  townships  took  on  the  more  placid  aspect  of  the  Cono- 
wingo,  whose  smooth  meadows  and  flowery  banks  character- 
ized these  localities ;  while  the  eastern  end  of  Drumore,  Cole- 
rain  and  Little  Britain  had  peculiarly  the  type  illustrated  by 
the  more  turbulent  flow  and  rugged  hillsides  of  the  Octoraro. 
Both  streams  find  their  outlet  in  the  Susquehanna,  and  at 
very  nearly  the  same  sea  level.  But  in  the  days  of  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law  and  of  local  defiance  of  it  the  North  bound 
bondsman  generally  made  his  way  to  the  Chester  Valley 
by  Pleasant  Grove  and  Liberty  Square,  rather  than  by  Kirk- 
wood  and  Nine  Points. 

Of  the  two  "schools"  the  Hicksite  branch  of  Friends 
was  not  only  the  more  numerous  in  the  Lower  End.  but  its 


CONDITIONS  ALONG  THE  BOKDEK.  15 

members  were  the  more  aggressive  in  their  hostility  to 
slavery.  The  Presbyterian  works  out  his  humanitarianism 
rather  more  directly  through  the  law  than  around  or  under 
it;  and,  while  in  many  households  of  this  faith,  colored  ser- 
vants and  farm  hands  found  trusted  and  long  continued 
employment,  the  general  attitude  of  the  Scotch-Irish  to  the 
slavery  question  was  different  from  that  of  the  Quaker; 
socially  the  blood  of  the  negro  was  more  offensive  to  the  more 
aggressive  race. 

There  were,  of  course,  far  more  than  enough  exceptions  to 
"  prove  the  rule."  Rev.  Lindley  C.  Rutter,  long  the  beloved 
pastor  of  Chestnut  Level  Presbyterian  Church,  was  one  of 
the  most  fearless  and  outspoken  of  the  local  Abolitionists. 
Likewise  "  Father  "  William  Easton,  of  the  Octoraro  United 
Presbyterian  Church.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Quarryville, 
where  the  German  and  Scotch  Irish  elements  seemed  to 
meet,  intermixture  of  colored  and  white  blood  was  not  in- 
frequent ;  and,  contrary  to  the  general  laws  of  miscegenation 
and  degeneration,  many  of  the  mulatto,  quadroon  and  octo- 
roon people  sprung  from  these  racial  intermarriages  were 
very  respectable,  honest  and  industrious  citizens. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Mine  Ridge,  that  range  running 
westward  from  Gap  across  Lancaster  County,  during  the 
"fifties"  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of  outlawry  on 
the  part  of  an  organized  "gang,"  whose  depredations  now 
took  on  the  form  of  kidnapping  and  again  the  less  illegal, 
but  by  no  means  more  popular,  practice  of  aiding  the  recap- 
ture and  return  —  regularly  or  irregularly  —  of  fugitive 
slaves.  If  their  raids  and  robberies  were  the  terror  of  the 
farmers,  millers,  butchers  and  storekeepers  of  the  peaceful 
Pequea  Valley,  on  the  south  side  of  which  their  strongholds 
then  lay,  their  incursions  into  the  homes  and  haunts  of 
colored  laborers  beyond  the  Octoraro  hills  were  no  less  cause 
for  alarm  among  the  free  or  fugitive  colored  people  than 
they  were  of  intense  resentment  and  indignation  on  the  part 


16  THE     CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

of  the  white  friends,  employers  and  protectors  of  the  blacks. 

While  then  one  trail  of  the  Underground  Railroad  ran  by 
Columbia  and  Bird-in-Hand,  whereon  friendly  hands  passed 
the  fugitive  from  Stephen  Smith  to  Daniel  Gibbons ;  and  a 
branch  led  from  Joseph  Taylor's,  at  Ashville  to  Pennington- 
ville  and  Christiana,  another  had  a  continuous  line  of  sta- 
tions from  the  Gilberts  and  Bushongs  around  May,  in  Bart, 
or  later  Eden  township,  out  "  the  valley "  to  and  past  the 
scene  of  what  was  to  be  the  deepest  tragedy  which  ever 
thrilled  this  little  community. 

Popular  feeling  was  not  wholly  unprepared  for  it.  The 
conflagration  was  not  a  sudden  outbreak.  Combustibles  had 
been  accumulating.  Local  incidents,  such  as  escapes,  man 
hunts,  kidnappings  and  other  like  events  had  occurred  to  an 
extent  sufficient  to  excite  popular  interest;  and  by  rumor 
they  had  been  exaggerated  enough  to  further  inflame  it; 
numerous  persons  supposed  or  known  to  be  ex-slaves  resided 
and  worked  in  the  neighborhood  and  were  the  subjects  of  a 
qualified  popular  protection.  There  had  been  outrages  on 
one  side  and  some  reprisals  on  the  other. 

In  1850  it  was  alleged  that  an  innocent  and  free  colored 
hired  man  named  Henry  Williams  had  been  seized  without 
right  or  legal  process  and  sold  into  perpetual  slavery  South. 
William  Dorsey  had  been  taken  from  his  wife  and  three 
children  and  lodged  in  the  jail  at  Lancaster.  A  gang  of 
three,  who  tried  to  take  a  maid  servant  from  Moses  Whit- 
son's  across  the  line  in  Chester  County,  were  forcibly  re- 
sisted by  a  lot  of  colored  men  under  the  lead  of  Ben.  Whipper. 
The  girl  was  rescued  and  her  captors  terribly,  if  not  fatally, 
beaten  on  the  Gap  hill.  A  negro  known  as  "  Tom-up-in-the- 
barn,"  living  near  Gap,  was  said  to  have  been  captured 
one  morning  on  his  way  to  thresh  at  Caleb  Brinton's,  and 
never  got  back.  The  barn  of  Lindley  Coates,  in  Sadsbury 
township,  was  burned  in  1850  by  miscreants  angered  at  his 
denunciation  of  slave  catchers  and  kidnappers. 


il 


El 

cr 


CONDITIONS  ALONG  THE  BORDEE.  17 

It  was  also  related  that  an  industrious  negro  fence-maker 
had  been  violently  carried  off  from  his  home  on  John  Mc- 
Gowen's  place  in  the  valley,  near  Mars  Hill,  between  Chris- 
tiana and  Quarryville.  The  narrator  of  this  (Forbes'  "  True 
Story")  does  not  tell  whether  the  man  was  free  or  a  fugitive 
slave;  and  to  his  outraged  neighbors  this  distinction  made 
little  difference. 

The  incident  of  most  note  occurring  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  the  influence  of  which  lasted  longest,  the  feel- 
ing about  which  was  most  acute,  and  which  figured  largely 
in  the  "  Treason  Trials"  was  what  was  stigmatized  as  "  the 
outrage  at  Chamberlain's."  Its  scene  was  on  the  "  Buck  hill," 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  Sadsbury  township,  on  what  is 
now  known  as  the  "  Todd  place,"  west  of  the  back  road  from 
Gap  to  Christiana  and  in  what  was  a  sort  of  middle  ground 
between  the  operations  of  the  "  Gap  gang "  and  the  refuge 
territory  of  the  fugitives.  Here  in  March  1851  a  posse, 
claimed  to  be  led  by  a  rather  notorious  member  of  the  "  Gap 
gang,"  entered  the  Chamberlain  house,  severely  beat  a  col- 
ored man  named  John  Williams  employed  there,  who  made 
desperate  resistance,  terrified  the  members  of  the  family, 
and  carried  off  their  bleeding  victim  in  a  wagon.  It  seems 
he  was  an  escaped  slave;  but  his  captors  exhibited  no  offi- 
cial 'warrant  of  arrest  nor  made  any  claim  of  authority 
except  to  declare  they  were  acting  for  his  master.  It  was 
believed  he  died  from  their  ill  treatment  of  him. 

And  there  were  reprisals!  William  Parker  —  of  whom 
this  narrative  will  have  more  to  say  —  admitted  years 
afterwards  that  he  had  helped  to  beat,  fatally  he  believed, 
the  captors  of  a  colored  girl ;  that  he  had  tried  to  kill  Allen 
Williams  on  suspicion  that  he  had  betrayed  Henry;  that 
he  recaptured  a  kidnapped  man  on  the  West  Chester  road, 
after  shooting  at  his  captors  and  being  himself  shot  in  the 
ankle;  and  that  he  and  his  associates  went  to  the  home  of 
a  decoy  negro,  burned  it  down  and  watched  to  shoot  him 
2' 


18  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

with  smooth-bore  rifles  "  heavily  charged  "  if  the  flames  drove 
him  into  the  open. 

The  leading  people  of  this  neighborhood  were  not  only 
anti-slavery  in  sentiment,  but  they  resented  what  seemed  to 
be  lawless  invasion  of  their  peaceful  community;  they  were 
not  afforded  means  of  verifying  the  authenticity  of  the  claims 
made  for  escaped  slaves;  the  local  people  engaged  in  the 
business  of  aiding  in  slave  hunting  and  slave  nabbing  were 
generally  disreputable  and  sometimes  themselves  outlaws 
and  criminals;  farmers  and  mechanics  were  disturbed  in 
their  domestic  service  by  the  frequency  with  which  attacks 
were  made  upon  their  many  and  useful  colored  employees 
and  by  the  apprehensions  to  which  they  were  all  constantly 
exposed.  Withal  a  sense  of  protection  was  felt  in  the  fact 
that  the  most  powerful  leader  of  the  bar  of  Lancaster  County, 
and  its  representative  in  Congress  Thaddeus  Stevens,  was 
outspoken  in  his  denunciation  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
Political  discussion  and  sentiment  in  this  immediate  locality, 
far  more  than  in  any  other  part  of  Lancaster  County,  was 
focusing  upon  open  defiance  of  and  even  physical  resistance 
to  the  enforcement  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  As  early  as 
October  11,  1850,  at  a  public  meeting  in  Georgetown,  Bart 
Township,  four  miles  from  the  later  scene  of  the  riot  — 
William  L.  Kakestraw  presiding  and  Elwood  Cooper  Sec- 
retary —  a  committee  consisting  of  Thomas  Whitson,  Elwood 
Cooper,  Cyrus  Manahan,  Elwood  Griest  and  Joseph  Mc- 
Clelland, reported  and  published  vigorous  resolutions  de- 
nouncing the  fugitive  slave  bill,  and  declaring  that  they 
would  "  harbor,  clothe,  feed  and  aid  the  escape  of  fugitive 
slaves  in  opposition  to  the  law." 

This  was  the  state  of  popular  feeling  and  these  were  the 
social  and  political  conditions  prevailing  in  lower  Lancaster 
County,  when  the  Gorsuch  party  set  out  from  Maryland  to 
retake  their  escaped  slaves  by  due  and  orderly  processes  of 
law  —  from  which  mission  the  elder  Gorsuch  returned  a 


CONDITIONS  ALONG  THE  BOEDER.  19 

mangled  corpse  and  his  son  with  a  shot-riddled  body;  in  the 
attempt  to  execute  which  the  officers  of  the  law  were  put  to 
flight;  out  of  which  grew  the  arrest  of  two  score  men  and 
the  indictment  of  more  persons  for  treason  than  were  ever 
before  or  since  tried  for  that  crime  in  the  United  States; 
the  acrimonious  relations  of  two  neighboring  common- 
wealths for  years;  the  open  exultation  of  many  persons  over 
the  killing  and  wounding  of  citizens  engaged  in  a  lawful 
undertaking,  and  the  chagrin  of  many  other  orderly  and  law- 
abiding  people  that  the  law  of  the  land  had  been  violated 
in  bloodshed  and  its  officers  successfully  resisted. 


CHAPTEK  IV. 

THE  ESCAPE  AND  PURSUIT  OF  THE  SLAVES. 

The  Gorsuch  Homestead  and  Its  Proprietor  —  An  Old  and  Prominent 
Maryland  Family  —  The  Kunaways  Absent  for  Nearly  Two  Years 
Before  They  were  Pursued  —  The  Warrants  and  Attempted  Exe- 
cution. 

In  Baltimore  County,  Maryland,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
York  and  Baltimore  turnpike,  south  of  Monkton,  and  north 
of  Glencoe,  stations  of  the  North  Central  Railroad,  stand 
today  the  farm  buildings  of  the  Gorsuch  homestead,  where 
and  as  they  stood  in  1849  and  for  a  long  time  before. 
Their  earlier  owner,  John  Gorsuch,  devised  this  estate  to 
his  nephew,  Edward,  with  several  hundred  acres  of  land 
and  a  number  of  slaves.  It  was  a  provision  of  his  will  that 
certain  of  them  should  be  free  when  they  reached  a  fixed 
age.  In  1849  one  of  them  at  least  attained  this  condition. 
Jarret  Wallace  had  during  the  period  of  his  bondage  so 
served  his  master  and  was  so  appreciated  by  him  that  after 
he  became  free  Mr.  Gorsuch  retained  him  in  his  employ  as 
his  "market  man"  to  sell  his  products  in  Baltimore.  In 
November,  1849,  he  was  building  Wallace  a  tenant  house, 
and  John  Wesley  Knight  (who  now  lives  in  York,  aged  83) 
and  Joshua  Pitt,  carpenters,  were  working  for  him  at  the 
time.  He  had  also  millwrights,  boarding  and  sleeping  there 
and  then  they  were  building  him  a  saw  mill  on  Piney  Creek, 
which  ran  through  his  extensive  farm.  Four  of  his  slaves 
were  Noah  Buley  and  Joshua  Hammond  —  whose  time  was 
nearly  up  —  and  two  younger,  about  twenty-one  years  old, 
named  Nelson  Ford  and  George  Hammond  who  had  six  or 
seven  years  to  serve.  The  man  Ford  was  a  rather  delicate 
young  fellow,  and  Mr.  Gorsuch  spared  him  heavy  work. 
20 


THE    ESCAPE    AND    PURSUIT    OF     THE     SLAVES.  21 

He  was  the  teamster  of  the  place,  but  was  always  accom- 
panied by  help  when  he  needed  it.  Buley  is  described  as  a 
copper  colored  mulatto  and  of  treacherous  disposition. 

Mr.  Gorsuch  was  a  man  of  much  prominence.  He  was  a 
Whig  in  politics,  a  class  leader  in  the  Methodist  church,  a 
dignified  and  courtly  gentleman  in  his  manners,  a  just  and 
accurate  man  in  his  business  dealings,  a  kind  hearted  master 
and  employer  and  a  man  of  forceful  and  determined  tempera- 
ment. He  was  born  April  17,  1795,  and  was,  therefore, 
in  his  fifty-fifth  year  when  his  slaves  escaped  and  in  his 
fifty-seventh  when  he  was  killed.  He  was  living  with  his 
second  wife,  and  had  five  children  of  his  first  wife,  two 
daughters  and  three  sons,  of  whom  the  eldest,  John  S.,  was  a 
Methodist  clergyman,  then  residing  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
There  is  no  portrait  extant  of  the  elder  Gorsuch,  but  his  son 
Dickinson  resembled  him. 

In  the  fall  of  1849  Mr.  Gorsuch  had  his  wheat  stored  in 
the  corn  house,  a  building  which  stood  between  the  house 
and  barn.  The  main  barn  fronts  and  adjoins  the  turnpike ; 
the  mansion  house  is  some  distance  back  of  the  road,  reached 
by  a  shady  lane  and  surrounded  by  lawn,  orchards  and  out- 
buildings. In  accordance  with  his  habit  Mr.  Gorsuch  kept 
careful  account  of  his  wheat  in  store  and  of  the  quantities 
withdrawn  from  time  to  time,  as  he  made  his  grain  all  into 
flour  at  his  own  mill  and  retailed  it  in  Baltimore.  Having 
missed  considerable  of  his  stock,  he  made  inquiry  of  a 
neighbor  miller,  Elias  Matthews,  who  reported  a  lot  of  wheat 
sold  to  him  by  one  Abe  Johnson,  a  ne'er-do-well  free  negro 
living  two  miles  north  of  Gorsuch's,  who  had  no  land  to 
raise  wheat  nor  credit  to  buy  it.  Gorsuch  got  out  a  warrant 
for  his  arrest,  and  it  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Constable 
Bond  for  execution.  He  was  laggard  and  "Bill"  Foster 
who  was  something  of  a  local  terror  to  wrong-doers,  was 
entrusted  with  the  job.  But  Johnson  got  over  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Governor  Johnston  subsequently  refused  to  honor 
a  requisition  for  his  extradition. 


22 


THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 


While  the  carpenters  were  building  the  tenant  house  and 
the  millwrights  were  putting  up  the  saw  mill,  in  November, 
1849,  the  negroes  were  cutting  and  topping  the  corn,  haul- 
ing in  the  unshucked  ears  with  ox-carts  to  the  barn  floor 
where,  by  aid  of  lanterns,  the  whole  household,  mechanics 
and  slaves  engaged  nightly  in  husking  bee  merriment.  Mean- 
time news  of  Bill  Foster's  search  for  Abe  Johnson  were  rife ; 
likewise  suspicious  that  the  colored  "  boys  "  had  helped  him 
to  raid  the  cornhouse  and  shared  his  spoils.  One  day  they 
exhibited  unwonted  unrest  and  clustered  into  whispering 
groups ;  one  expressed  to  the  white  workmen  special  anxiety 
to  know  "if  the  Boss  is  going  to  husk  corn  tonight,"  and 
another  declared  his  purpose  to  set  a  rabbit  trap,  for  it  was 
"  going  to  be  a  very  dark  night." 

It  was.  There  was  no  corn  husking ;  and  Knight,  the  car- 
penter, was  aroused  early  by  the  call  of  Dickinson  Gorsuch 
from  down  stairs  that  "  the  boys  are  all  gone."  They  escaped 
through  a  skylight  in  the  back  building  and  made  their  way 
down  a  ladder  and  up  the  York  turnpike.  When  the  Gor- 
suches  next  saw  any  of  them  it  was  in  the  flash  and  fire  of 
the  Christiana  Kiot,  in  the  early  dawn  of  September  11, 
1851,  at  Parker's  cabin. 

During  the  interval,  however,  reports  reached  the  Gor- 
suches  from  time  to  time  of  their  whereabouts;  messages 
came  from  the  runaways  soliciting  food  supplies  and  other 
aid,  which  were  sent  upon  assurances  of  their  return.  Mr. 
Gorsuch  had  such  confidence  in  his  benevolence  as  their 
master  that  he  always  believed  if  he  could  meet  or  communi- 
cate directly  with  them  he  could  get  them  back.  They  soon 
found  their  way  into  the  vicinity  of  Christiana  where  they 
"  worked  around  "  and  were  known  by  various  aliases ;  after 
nearly  two  years  sojourn  thereabouts  their  ownership  became 
known  to  those  who  made  gain  of  such  information. 

The  personal  narrative  of  Peter  Woods,  survivor,  leaves 
little  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  identity  and  their  residence 


THE    ESCAPE    AND    PUESUIT    OF    THE    SLAVES.  23 

around  Christiana.  He  says :  "  They  lived  here  among  us 
adjoining  me.  One  lived  with  Joseph  Pownall.  His  name 
was  John  Beard.  He  was  a  little  brown-skinned  fellow  —  a 
pleasant  chap.  The  other  three  were  known  to  us  as  Thomas 
Wilson,  Alexander  Scott  and  Edward  Thompson;  Scott 
was  a  tall  yellow-colored  fellow,  with  straight  hair.  The 
colored  fellows  met  at  Parker's  nearly  every  Sunday.  A  good 
many  got  their  washing  done  there.  He  had  an  apple-butter 
party  about  the  time  of  the  riot.  We  knew  that  these  new 
colored  fellows  were  escaped  slaves.  They  were  about  the 
Riot  House  and  in  our  neighborhood  a  couple  of  years  before 
the  riot.  We  colored  fellows  were  all  sworn  in  to  keep  secret 
what  we  knew  and  when  these  fellows  came  there  they  were 
sworn  in  too.  Scott  told  how  they  four  happened  to  run 
away.  He  said  he  brought  them  with  him  in  a  big  wagon 
to  Baltimore,  or  he  said  he  had  come  with  a  big  load  of  grain 
for  his  master.  He  put  them  on  the  cars  at  Baltimore,  then 
sent  his  master's  team  back  and  took  the  next  train  too,  and 
that  way  they  come  up  among  the  Quakers  in  this  country 
which  they  knew  was  a  good  point  on  the  underground  rail- 
way. The  people  who  owned  these  slaves  or  some  of  them 
sent  men  up  into  this  country  some  time  before.  One  man 
came  to  me  one  day  while  I  was  cradling  wheat  and  said, 
'  You  are  a  little  man  to  cradle  wheat,  I  am  trying  to  find 
three  or  four  big  colored  men  to  cut  wheat  for  me.  Can  you 
tell  me  if  there  are  any  here  that  I  can  get  ? '  I  knew  what 
he  was  after,  that  he  was  looking  for  escaped  negroes,  and  I 
did  not  give  him  much  satisfaction."  The  "John  Beard" 
whom  Woods  knew  was  Gorsuch's  boy  Nelson  Ford — so  he 
told  Cyrus  Brinton. 

From  Penningtonville  (now  Atglen,  near  Christiana), 
August  29,  1851,  there  was  mailed  to  "Mr.  Edward  Gor- 
such,  Hereford  P.  O.,  Bait.  Co.,  M.  D.,"  a  letter  which  was 
found  upon  and  taken  from  his  body  after  he  was  killed ;  the 
following  is  a  copy: 


24  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

LANCASTER,  Co.  28  August  1851. 
Kespected  friend,  I  have  the  required 
Information  of  four  men  that  is  within 
Two  miles  of  each  other,     now  the  best 
Way  is  for  you  to  come  as  A  hunter 

Disguised  about  two  days  ahead  of  your  son  and  let  him  come 
By  way  of  Philadelphia  and  get  the  deputy  marshal  John 
Nagle  I  think  is  his  name,     tell  him  the  situation 
And  he  can  get  force  of  the  right  kind  it  will  take 
About  twelve  so  that  they  can  divide  and  take  them 
All  within  half  an  hour,     now  if  you  can  come  on  the  2d  or  3d 

of  September  come  on  &  I  will 
Meet  you  at  the  gap  when  you  get  their 
Inquire  for  Benjamin  Clay's  tavern  let 
Your  son  and  the  marshal  get  out 
Kinyer's*  hotel  now  if  you  cannot  come 
At  the  time  spoken  of  write  very  soon 
And  let  me  know  when  you  can 
I  wish  you  to  come  as  soon  as  you  possibly  can 

Very  respectfully  thy  friend 

WILLIAM  M.  P. 

(In  pencil)        WM  M  PADGETT. 
*  Kinzer  'a. 

About  the  same  time  there  had  come  into  Gorsuch's  locality 
a  man  (whose  name  is  not  known),  purporting  to  be  from 
lower  Lancaster  County,  who  claimed  to  be  able  to  locate 
a  number  of  slaves  escaped  from  Baltimore  County,  among 
them  one  of  Dr.  Pearce,  who  had  escaped  the  same  night  as 
Gorsuch's.  Dr.  Pearce  was  a  son  of  the  elder  Gorsuch's  mar- 
ried sister  Belinda. 

Acting  upon  these  reports  and  under  the  authority  of  the 
new  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850,  Edward  Gorsuch,  his  son 
Dickinson,  his  nephew  Joshua  Gorsuch,  Dr.  Thomas  Pearce, 
Nicholas  Hutchings  and  Nathan  Nelson,  neighbors  and 
friends,  came  to  Pennsylvania  to  recover  the  slaves.  Under 
date  of  September  9,  1851,  the  owner  procured  from  Edward 
D.  Ingraham,  United  States  Commissioner  at  Philadelphia, 
four  warrants  directed  to  Henry  H.  Kline,  Deputy  United 
States  Marshal,  to  apprehend  the  fugitives.  About  the  at- 


THE    ESCAPE    AND    PURSUIT    OF    THE    SLAVES.  25 

tempt  and  failure  to  execute  those  warrants,  or  any  of  them, 
circle  the  Christiana  Riot  and  the  Treason  Trials  of  1851. 

According  to  Dickinson  Gorsuch's  diary  his  father  left 
for  Philadelphia  "on  the  express  train,"  Monday,  Septem- 
ber 8,  1851,  and  the  others  followed  next  day.  The  war- 
rants had  meantime  issued  and  the  Maryland  party  met  at 
Parkesburg  on  Wednesday,  September  10.  By  arrangement 
Constables  John  Agan  and  "Sheriff's  Officer"  Thompson 
Tully  of  Philadelphia  had  come  on  to  Parkesburg;  Deputy 
Marshal  Kline  went  separately  by  rail  to  West  Chester,  took 
a  vehicle  to  Gallagherville,  and  started  thence  for  Penning- 
tonville  [now  Atglen].  His  wagon  broke  down;  he  and  his 
man  Gallagher  hired  another  vehicle  and  reached  Pennington- 
ville  about  midnight;  his  delay  caused  the  party  to  discon- 
nect. Agan  and  Tully  and  the  Gorsuches  stayed  at  Parkes- 
burg. Meantime  a  light  young  colored  man,  named  Samuel 
Williams,  of  Seventh  Street,  below  Lombard,  Philadelphia, 
recognized  Kline  at  Penningtonville ;  he  likely  scented  his 
real  errand,  and  when  Kline  represented  that  he  was  after 
two  horse  thieves,  Williams  told  him  they  had  left.  When 
Kline  started  for  Gap  he  was  followed  by  some  one  whom  he 
suspected  to  be  Williams,  and  Williams  no  doubt  sounded 
a  general  alarm  as  to  Kline's  errand.  He  had  been  dis- 
patched for  that  purpose  from  Philadelphia,  where  a  Vigilant 
Committee  was  on  the  lookout  to  protect  fugitives.  It  was 
also  told  by  John  Criley  on  information  from  Henry  Murr, 
blacksmith,  that  Joseph  Scarlet,  from  a  business  trip  to 
Philadelphia  early  in  the  week,  had  brought  like  tidings 
into  the  neighborhood. 

Kline  and  his  associate  slept  at  Houston's  hotel,  Gap,  on 
Wednesday  night  and  returned  early  next  morning  to  Parkes- 
burg, where  they  found  Agan  and  Tully ;  the  Gorsuch  people 
had  gone  over  to  Sadsbury  on  the  old  Philadelphia  turn- 
pike and  Kline  rejoined  them;  Gorsuch  went  to  Parkes- 
burg to  detain  the  Philadelphia  officers,  and  Kline  went  to 


26  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

Downingtown  and  thence  to  Gallagherville,  where  the  entire 
searching  party  met,  except  Tully  and  Agan,  who  returned 
finally  to  Philadelphia.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  the 
party  went  from  Gallagherville  to  Downingtown,  took  the 
cars  there  after  midnight,  came  through  to  Gap,  where  they 
got  off  the  train  and  went  down  the  railroad  track.  About 
2  A.M.  they  met  Padgett  (his  name  was  not  mentioned  at 
the  trial).  Presumably  they  joined  him  and  left  the  rail- 
road at  the  grade  crossing  of  a  public  road  to  Smyrna, 
formerly  known  as  the  "  Brown  House,"  which  stood  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  intersection.  Padgett  was  a  farm 
hand  at  Murray's,  the  stone  house  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
between  Gap  and  Christiana  on  the  Brown  farm.  The  Mur- 
raya  had  lived  in  Baltimore  County,  Md.  There  their  local 
guide  led  them,  likely  by  or  at  least  toward  Smyrna  and 
through  cornfields  to  the  Valley  Road,  where  the  "  long  lane  " 
led  southward  through  Levi  Pownall's  farm  to  the  Noble 
Road,  across  the  Valley  and  near  to  Pownall's  tenant  house 
on  the  southern  slope,  where  William  Parker  and  his  brother- 
in-law  Pinckney  lived. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   DEFENSE   AND  DEFENDERS. 

William  Parker  and  His  Home  —  A  Leader  of  His  Eace  and  Class  — 
The  Hero  of  the  Fugitive  Slaves  and  the  Champion  of  Their  Resist- 
ance to  Recapture  —  The  Night  Before  the  Fight. 

To  those  who  sympathized  with  resistance  to  the  execu- 
tion of  the  warrants,  and  rejoiced  in  the  results  of  the  battle 
to  the  death  made  by  the  refugees,  the  hero  of  the  event 
was  William  Parker.  His  home  was  "  where  the  battle 
was  fought,"  and  he  was  then  and  had  been  long  before  a 
leader  of  his  race  and  the  most  resolute  defender  of  the 
runaway  slaves  in  that  section.  He  was  a  man  of  force  and 
had  strong  though  untutored  intellectual  qualities.  After 
the  war  for  the  Union,  in  which  he  served,  he  inspired  some 
articles  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  in  1866,  from  which  this 
story  will  later  be  amplified,  and  upon  the  occasion  of  a  re- 
visit nearly  forty  years  ago  to  Christiana  he  gave  some 
account  of  himself  to  old  friends  thereabouts. 

He  was  born  opposite  Queen  Anne,  in  Anne  Arundel 
County,  Maryland.  His  mother  was  Louisa  Simms,  who  died 
when  he  was  young,  and  his  only  parental  care  was  from  his 
grandmother.  His  mother  was  one  of  the  seventy  field  hands 
of  Major  William  Brogdon,  of  "Rodown"  plantation;  and 
six  years  after  the  old  master  died,  when  his  sons  David 
and  William  divided  his  plantation  and  slaves,  William 
Parker  fell  to  David  and  to  his  estate  "  Nearo."  There  he 
had  kind  treatment,  until  slave  traders  came  and  a  slave 
sale  occurred,  followed  by  others  with  their  cruel  and 
pathetic  separation  of  families.  Then  he  realized  the  bitter- 
ness of  slavery  and  the  blessings  of  freedom.  He  set  out  for 
the  North  by  Baltimore,  with  his  brother  as  a  companion. 

27 


28  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

They  reached  York  and  Wrightsville,  crossed  the  river  to 
Columbia  in  a  boat  and  he  settled  down  to  farm  work  near 
Lancaster  at  $3  per  month;  while  his  brother  moved  on  to 
the  eastern  part  of  the  County.  Later  William  got  employ- 
ment with  Dr.  Obadiah  Dingee,  a  warm  sympathizer,  who 
lived  near  Smyrna  and  was  the  father  of  the  venerable 
Charles  Dingee,  of  West  Grove  nursery  and  rose  culture 
fame.  While  there  Parker  had  access  to  anti-slavery  periodi- 
cals and  he  heard  William  Lloyd  Garrison  and  Frederick 
Douglass  speak ;  he  caught  inspiration  from  them  to  organize 
his  fellows,  fugitive  and  free,  in  that  community  to  resist 
recapture  and  repel  assaults  upon  their  race. 

It  has  been  already  told,  upon  his  own  testimony,  how  they 
operated.  Parker  was  involved  in  many  other  affrays.  In 
a  rescue  riot  on  the  streets  of  Lancaster  on  one  occasion  he 
proved  himself  a  man  of  great  strength  and  valor;  he  was 
recognized  by  whites  and  blacks  as  a  towering  figure.  Daniel 
Gibbons  sent  Eliza  Ann  Howard,  another  refugee,  to  Dr. 
Dingee's  and  she  became  Parker's  wife;  her  sister  followed 
and  married  his  associate  Alex.  Pinckney.  They  all  lived 
together,  and  at  the  time  the  Gorsuch  party  came  for  their 
slaves  Parker  and  Pinckney  were  running  a  horse-power 
threshing  machine  for  Joseph  Scarlet  and  George  Whitson. 
Their  families  lived  together  in  the  tenant  house,  just  to 
the  east  of  the  "  long  lane "  on  the  Levi  Pownall  farm,  later 
owned  by  Marion  Griest,  and  now  by  Mrs.  Agnes  Lantz.  It 
was  a  place  for  frequent  foregatherings  of  the  colored  people 
in  that  day.  No  trace  of  the  little  old  stone  house  is  left, 
but  sketches  of  it  were  made  before  the  obliteration.  The 
news  spread  by  Sam  Williams  of  Kline's  visit  reached  Par- 
ker's house  the  evening  before  the  officers.  Besides  Pinckney, 
Josh  Kite,  Samuel  Thompson  and  Abraham  Johnson  were 
there.  Sam  Hopkins,  who  died  recently,  always  related  that 
there  was  an  apple-butter  boiling  at  Parker's  that  night,  and 
the  merrymakers  danced  around  the  kettle  and  fire  singing 
a  song  the  refrain  of  which  was 


THE  DEFENSE  AND  DEFENDERS.  29 

"Take  me  back  to  Canada, 
Where   de'   cullud  people's  free." 

The  men  named  and  the  Parker  and  Pinckney  sisters  were 
there  all  night  at  least.  That  the  negroes  were  armed  not 
only  appears  from  subsequent  events,  but  it  might  be  in- 
ferred from  Parker's  own  account  of  his  habit.  He  was 
long  reticent  as  to  the  details  of  the  final  encounter;  but 
there  is  ample  proof  that  of  the  Gorsuch  slaves  Noah  Buley 
was  there  very  early  on  the  day  of  the  affray,  and  at  least 
two  others  of  the  Gorsuch  slaves  were  on  the  ground  soon 
after.  The  names  taken  by  fugitives  were  so  uncertain 
that  the  "Abraham  Johnson"  of  this  occasion  may  or  may 
not  have  been  the  Baltimore  County  freeman  of  that  name 
who  fled  from  Gorsuch's  warrant  in  1849.  Some  of  the 
Gorsuch  party  so  identified  him.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  the 
concourse  of  colored  men  already  gathered  at  Parker's  house 
when  the  Kline-Gorsuch  squad  arrived  were  assembled  by 
design,  upon  some  call  or  signal ;  that  their  leaders  knew  the 
objective  point  was  the  arrest  then  and  there  of  the  Balti- 
more County  runaways ;  and  they  soon  had  added  force  large 
enough  and  brave  enough  to  resist,  defeat  and  either  kill, 
wound  or  drive  off  the  officers  and  owners. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIGHT. 

The  Challenge  to  Surrender  and  the  Defiance  —  A  Long  Parley  —  The 
Prompt  Kesponse  to  a  Call  for  Aid  —  The  Firing  Begins  —  Flight  of 
Kline  and  his  Deputies  —  Gorsuch  is  Killed  and  his  Son  Terribly 
Wounded. 

Padgett,  guide  and  informer,  led  the  Southern  and  Federal 
forces  to  within  about  a  quarter  mile  of  the  Parker  house, 
where  they  stopped  at  a  little  stream  crossing  the  long  lane, 
ate  some  crackers  and  cheese  and  "  fixed  their  ammunition." 
It  was  then  just  about  daybreak;  it  was  a  heavy,  foggy 
morning;  and  Padgett  found  it  was  his  time  to  withdraw. 
As  the  party  drew  near  to  the  short  lane  which  led  into  the 
house  and  little  garden-orchard  around  it  they  were  seen  by 
Nelson  Ford  and  Joshua  Hammond,  two  of  the  Gorsuch  slaves 
who  had  evidently  been  picketed.  They  retreated  to  the 
house ;  Gorsuch  and  Kline  'followed  and  the  Marshal  officially 
announced  their  errand.  Some  inmate  of  the  house  answered 
that  the  men  called  for  were  not  there ;  and  when  Kline,  as 
he  testified,  started  to  go  up  the  stairs,  followed  by  the  elder 
Gorsuch,  a  five-pronged  fish  "  gig "  was  thrown  at  him ;  next 
came  a  flying  axe.  Neither  missile  hit  him;  he  and  Mr. 
Gorsuch  withdrew,  and  he  says  a  shot  was  fired  at  them  from 
the  house  and  he  returned  the  fire.  Then  Kline  made  a  feint 
of  sending  off  for  a  hundred  men  "to  scare  the  negroes." 
His  bluff  had  that  temporary  effect  and  a  parley  ensued. 
During  this  it  was  made  manifest  that  a  considerable  number 
of  armed  men  were  in  Parker's  house. 

Meantime,  on  their  way,  the  officers  had  heard  a  bugle 
blown;  conjectures  differed  whether  it  was  a  signal  from  the 
Parker  house  or  a  summons  for  the  laborers  on  the  railroad 
30 


THE     FIGHT.  31 

to  go  to  work.  The  evidence  on  this  point  was  not  positive, 
but  the  besieged  soon  sounded  their  horn  from  the  upper 
story.  Parker  is  quoted  as  saying  that  Kline  threatened  to 
burn  the  house,  and  he  defied  him  to  do  it;  that  Mrs.  Par- 
ker sounded  a  horn  which  brought  their  allies ;  and  the  depu- 
ties fired  at  her  as  she  sounded  it,  without  causing  her  to 
desist;  that  Pinckney  counselled  surrender,  but  Parker  was 
for  fight.  Parker's  own  accounts  show  no  lack  of  self-asser- 
tion nor  absence  of  self-confidence.  That  may  or  may  not 
enhance  their  credibility. 

Some  early  summons  called  a  mixed  mob  together,  for 
while  the  brief  events  already  described  were  occurring, 
Castner  Hanway,  who  lived  a  full  mile  away,  rode  up  on  a 
bald-faced  sorrel  horse;  Elijah  Lewis  came  on  foot  in  his 
shirt  sleeves  and  a  straw  hat;  Zeke  Thompson,  the  Indian 
negro,  arrived  with  a  scythe  in  one  hand  and  a  revolver  in 
the  other ;  Noah  Buley  rode  in  on  a  handsome  gray  horse  and 
carrying  a  gun ;  Harvey  Scott  was  there,  weaponless ;  and  a 
half  score  of  others  armed  with  guns,  scythes  and  clubs,  were 
assembled  —  far  more  than  the  upstairs  of  that  little  cabin 
could  have  held,  even  without  the  women.  Other  white 
men  came  trooping  along,  who  in  Parker's  imagination  were 
Gap  gangsters  enrolled  by  Kline  as  "special  constables"; 
but  there  is  no  satisfactory  proof  that  these  were  anybody 
but  residents  of  the  vicinage  attracted  to  the  place  by  the 
commotion. 

The  excitement  and  confusion  that  subsequently  ensued, 
the  quick  succession  of  tragic  events,  the  prompt  retreat  of 
the  officers  and  the  almost  immediate  flight  from  the  vicinity 
of  their  guiltiest  assailants,  and  the  fact  that  none  of  them 
remained  or  ever  returned  to  tell  the  whole  story,  combine  to 
make  it  difficult  even  now  to  aver  with  certainty  what  next 
actually  happened.  It  is,  however,  reasonably  sure  that 
Hanway  and  Lewis  were  called  upon  to  interfere  and  aid  in 
executing  the  warrants  and  they  declined  to  do  so;  but  they 


32 


THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 


neither  advised  nor  inspired  any  violence ;  nor  does  it  appear 
that  they  arrived  on  the  scene  by  any  pre-arrangement  or 
otherwise  than  from  hearing  that  an  attempt  was  being 
made  by  some  one  to  take  negroes  from  the  Parker  house. 

Parker  says  Dickinson  Gorsuch  opened  the  next  stage  of 
the  battle  by  firing  at  him  in  resentment  of  a  supposed  insult 
to  his  father,  and  that  he  knocked  the  pistol  out  of  Young 
Gorsuch's  hand  before  "  fighting  commenced  in  earnest/'  and 
the  outside  negroes  then  shot  both  Gorsuches.  Deputy  Kline, 
who  made  himself  somewhat  ridiculous  on  the  witness  stand, 
remembered  most  vividly  how  he  himself  went  "  over  the 
fence  and  out "  through  the  cornfield  and  did  not  very  clearly 
account  for  the  fatal  renewal  of  hostilities.  Joshua  Gorsuch 
testified  that  as  Edward  Gorsuch  started  to  the  house  in 
answer  to  Kline's  call  to  him  to  come  on  and  get  his  prop- 
erty, his  uncle  was  murderously  assaulted  with  clubs  and  he 
fired  a  revolver  to  save  his  kinsman,  but  his  cap  burst  and 
the  weapon  did  not  go  off ;  he  was  severely  beaten  and  ran  for 
his  life,  the  infuriated  crowd  pursuing  him ;  a  thick  felt  hat 
saved  his  life  and  he  rode  off  the  battlefield  behind  some 
one  on  a  horse,  supposing  Edward  and  Dickinson  Gorsuch 
were  already  killed;  his  retreat  ended  only  at  York;  but  it 
was  months  before  he  recovered  from  his  wounds. 

Whoever  else  ran  or  stayed,  the  Gorsuches,  father  and  son, 
stood  their  ground  and  took  the  enemy's  fire.  Dickinson 
warned  the  elder  that  they  would  be  overpowered ;  but  when 
the  parent  declined  to  retreat  the  son  stayed  by  him  until  he 
was  himself  clubbed  and  shot  down,  as  he  went  to  the  rescue 
of  his  assaulted  father.  Eighty  shot  penetrated  Dickinson's 
arms,  thigh  and  body  —  and  many  of  them  stayed  there;  so 
that  when  he  died  in  1882  —  thirty-one  years  after  he  was 
shot  —  his  body  prepared  for  burial  was  "pitted  like  a 
sponge"  with  the  marks  of  the  "Christiana  Eiot."  When 
he  was  supposed  to  be  dying  Dickinson  Gorsuch  was  taken 
into  the  shade  of  a  big  oak  tree,  about  fifty  yards  from  where 
the  small  lane  then  entered  the  "  long  lane." 


THE  OLD  RIOT  HOUSE.     WILLIAM   PARKER'S  HOME. 

THE    FIACE    WHERE    THE    EATTIE   WAS    FOUGHT. 


THE     FIGHT.  33 

Dr.  Pearce  was  hit  with  a  missile  from  an  upper  window ; 
Nathan  Nelson  knew  and  recognized  Buley,  one  of  the  run- 
aways, and  while,  at  the  outset,  only  fifteen  or  twenty  negroes 
were  lined  in  the  lane  with  guns,  scythes,  clubs  and  corn 
cutters,  Nelson  saw  from  sev^nty-five  to  a  hundred  before  the 
smoke  of  battle  had  entirely  cleared.  Sam  Hopkins  and  his 
historic  corn  cutter  were  among  the  later  arrivals. 

One  of  the  dramatic  features  of  the  engagement  was  the 
appearance  on  the  field  of  old  Isaiah  Clarkson.  He  sum- 
moned fifteen  or  twenty  infuriated  and  raging  negroes  into 
the  cornfield  and  "  called  them  to  order "  three  times  before 
he  could  quiet  them,  and  withhold  them  from  violence. 
Meantime  old  Clarkson  had  seen  the  body  of  Edward  Gor- 
such  lying  alone  where  he  fell  dead,  clubbed,  cut  and  pierced 
with  gun  shots,  his  son  desperately  wounded;  his  kinsmen 
beaten  and  driven  off;  the  United  States  deputies  marshal 
in  full  retreat  —  infuriated  women,  forgetful  of  all  humane 
instincts,  revenging  on  a  humane  Christian  gentleman's  life- 
less body  the  wrongs  their  race  had  suffered  from  masters 
of  altogether  different  mould,  rushed  from  the  house  and 
with  corn  cutters  and  scythe  blades  hacked  the  bleeding  and 
lifeless  body  as  it  lay  in  the  garden  walk.  At  the  first  hear- 
ing Scott,  the  witness  who  afterwards  swore  differently  on 
the  trial,  testified  that  he  lived  with  John  Kerr  and  had 
stayed  at  Parker's  out  of  doors  in  the  road  all  that  night, 
having  been  persuaded  to  go  there  by  John  Morgan  and 
Henry  Sims,  who  were  armed ;  that  he  saw  them  both 
shoot  and  Henry  Sims  shot  Gorsuch;  that  John  Morgan 
cut  him  in  the  head  with  a  corn  cutter  after  he  fell.  Dr. 
Pearce  stated  under  oath  that  he  saw  Noah  Buhly  running 
past  Gorsuch,  but  he  could  not  say  that  Buhly  did  the  shoot- 
ing. At  the  time  Edward  Gorsuch  was  shot  he  was  standing 
still  calling  his  nephew  Joshua  and  had  no  weapon  in  his 
hand. 

It  will  never  be  known  whose  shot  or  how  many  killed 
3 


34  THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

Edward  Gorsuch.  More  than  one  weapon  was  directed  at 
him  and  doubtless  several  were  guilty  of  his  blood.  It  was 
not  long  until  a  consciousness  of  this  fell  upon  the  mob  and 
they  scattered  as  rapidly  as  they  had  assembled.  If  the 
Federal  deputies  had  dispersed  in  fear  and  flight  and  the 
local  authorities  were  slow  to  move,  neither  were  the 
guilty  laggard  in  flight.  By  nightfall  every  man  inmate  of 
Parker's  house  and  every  runaway  from  Baltimore  County 
were  on  their  way  to  Canada.  Hay  mows  and  straw  stacks 
weltered  above  the  throbbing  presence  of  trembling  fugitives ; 
and  all  the  local  agencies  of  rapid  news  and  transportation 
which  were  at  command  of  the  anti-slavery  people  were  set 
in  motion  to  get  and  keep  the  accused  in  advance  of  the  war- 
rants. Somebody  tarried  long  enough  on  the  Parker  premises 
to  despoil  Gorsuch's  body  of  $300  or  $400  in  money,  which 
was  on  his  person  when  he  fell  and  which  was  missing  at  the 
coroner's  inquest.  According  to  Tamsy  Brown  it  was  taken 
from  his  body  by  a  black  man,  who  divided  it  among  the 
colored  women  and  Abe  Johnson.  On  a  blank  leaf  of  the 
Padgett  letter,  heretofore  printed,  were  found  some  memo- 
randa made  by  Mr.  Gorsuch  himself  of  the  railroad  sched- 
ules and  names  of  persons  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  scene 
of  the  affray,  with  whom  it  was  supposed  colored  men  resided, 
together  with  the  following : 

Robert  M.  Lee 
John  Agen  Henry  H.  Cline 

Depatised 

Marshal  Kline 

Lawyer  Lee 

and  Benit 

Commissioner 

Ingraham 

O.  Eiley's  Telegraph 

avoid  Halzel 

Councelman 

Cpt.  Shutt 

J.  E.  Henson. 


THE     FIGHT.  35 

The  significance  of  these  entries  will  be  recognized.  !N"o 
weapons  were  found  on  the  body.  This  of  course  does  not 
prove  that  Mr.  Gorsuch  was  unarmed,  as  he  easily  might 
have  lost  or  have  been  despoiled  of  his  arms.  Fred  Douglass 
boasted  that  Gorsuch's  pistol  had  been  presented  to  him.  His 
family  believe,  and  from  his  habits  of  life  and  temperament 
it  may  be  presumed,  the  elder  Gorsuch  was  unarmed.  He 
depended  mainly  on  the  force  of  the  law's  warrant  and,  per- 
haps too  confidently,  on  the  nerve  of  the  Federal  deputies 
marshal. 

Dickinson  Gorsuch  was  soon  removed  to  friendly  shelter 
and  tender  ministrations  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Levi 
Pownall's  homestead.  There  he  learned  to  know  that  the 
Quaker  families  of  the  valley,  while  they  were  considerate 
of  the  slave,  could  be  no  less  kind  to  the  master  in  distress. 
The  daily  entries  of  his  diary  attest  his  gratitude  and  appre- 
ciation, and  these  he  substantially  manifested  throughout 
his  lifetime.  His  contemporaneous  portrait  herein  pub- 
lished was  taken  from  a  daguerreotype  sent  to  the  Pownall 
family.  Dr.  Ashmer  Pusey  Patterson,  who  attended  him, 
was  then  practicing  at  Smyrna.  He  was  of  the  Lower  End 
families  whose  names  he  bore.  Dr.  John  L.  Atlee,  Sr.,  of 
Lancaster,  and  Dr.  John  Martin,  of  Bart,  were  called  into 
consultation. 

During  Dickinson  Gorsuch's  stay  in  the  Pownall  house- 
hold he  was  visited  in  his  convalescence  by  many  of  his  Balti- 
more County  friends  and  relatives.  Among  them  were  his 
brother  John  S. ;  his  uncle  Talbott  Gorsuch;  his  sister 
Mary  (afterwards  Mrs.  Morrison)  ;  his  cousin  George  and 
others.  It  was  ten  days  before  he  could  eat  and  nearly  three 
weeks  before  he  could  sit  up.  By  October  1  he  could  take  a 
short  drive  and  was  entertained  next  day  at  Ambrose  Pow- 
nall's.  When  he  returned  home  in  charge  of  some  of  his 
family  on  October  4,  Dr.  Patterson  accompanied  them  as  far 
as  Columbia.  During  his  recovery  he  had  no  more  popular 


OO  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

visitor  than  his  friend  Alex.  Morrison,  who  subsequently 
married  his  sister.  Morrison  is  described  by  the  older  inhabi- 
tants as  one  who  "made  friends  everywhere."  He  kept  up 
his  acquaintance  with  people  about  Christiana  until  his  death 
and  visited  there  as  late  as  1903.  He  rejoiced  in  the  establish- 
ment of  good  relations  between  those  who  had  been  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  conflict  of  1851.  Dickinson  Gorsuch  was  56  years 
old  when  he  died,  August  2,  1882. 

Exactly  when  and  how  Parker,  Pinckney  and  the  fugitive 
slaves  got  away  from  the  neighborhood  is  difficult  to  tell  with 
absolute  certainty;  but  a  surviving  neighbor  throws  light  on 
their  movements  immediately  after  the  affray.  George 
Steele,  now  living  in  Chester  County  (who  subsequently 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Levi  W.  Pownall),  was  mak- 
ing charcoal  iron  at  the  Sadsbury  forges  in  1851.  He  lived 
near  by  the  Parker  place  and  recalls  the  events  with  great 
distinctness.  He  met  some  negroes  coming  from  the  scene 
exultant  over  its  results  and  he  warned  them  of  their  serious 
danger.  He  says  Parker  first  came  to  PownalFs  to  arrange 
for  Dickinson  Gorsuch's  removal  there,  but  another  neighbor 
was  already  on  the  way  with  the  wounded  man.  Both  Parker 
and  Pinckney  remained  hidden  all  day;  the  news  of  young 
Gorsuch's  serious  condition  brought  many  visitors  to  the 
Pownall  house;  later  in  the  evening  Parker  and  Pinckney 
themselves  called  and  for  the  first  time  seemed  to  realize  their 
position.  Some  of  the  women  members  of  the  household 
warned  them;  and,  while  Mrs.  Pownall  was  nursing  the 
wounded  man  to  life,  she  was  sparing  of  her  pantry  supplies 
to  fill  a  "  pillow  case  "  with  food  for  the  fugitives ;  and  her 
husband,  under  whose  roof  Gorsuch  was  receiving  every  kind 
attention,  loaned  of  his  clothing  to  their  disguise — all  being 
carried  to  them  by  George  Pownall,  then  a  boy,  who  was 
directed  to  find  them  at  a  certain  apple  tree  on  the  farther 
side  of  the  orchard. 

At  the  "  Riot  House  "  the  Pownalls  found  both  Pincknev's 


A  SOUTHERN  VISITOR. 


THE     FIGHT.  37 

and  Parker's  loaded  guns ;  and  they  prudently  burned  a  lot  of 
letters  found  there,  which  would  have  incriminated  some  of 
their  neighbors  in  violation  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
The  Pownalls  later  received  anonymous  information  that 
Parker  had  reached  Canada.  Gorsuch  himself  is  said  to  have 
expressed  kindly  feeling  for  Parker,  which  bears  out  the 
theory  that  Parker  tried  to  stem  the  riot  after  it  attained  a 
deadly  stage. 

Even  they  who  were  guiltless  of  their  neighbor's  blood  were 
not  unmindful  of  the  responsibility  imposed  upon  their  com- 
munity by  the  violent  killing  of  Gorsuch  and  the  escape  of 
his  slayers.  His  dead  body  was  taken  to  Christiana  and  lay 
at  Fred  Zercher's  hotel,  where  Harrar's  store  now  is  and 
nearly  opposite  the  Commemoration  Monument.  There  a 
coroner's  inquest  was  held  before  noon.  The  main  facts  of 
the  riot  were  related  by  Kline,  "  Harvey "  Scott  (who  later 
recanted),  and  others.  John  Bodley  and  Jake  Woods  testi- 
fied that  Elijah  Lewis'  passed  them  in  the  early  morning, 
when  they  were  working  at  James  Cooper's,  and  that  Lewis 
said  "  William  Parker's  house  was  surrounded  by  kidnappers 
and  it  was  no  time  to  take  out  potatoes." 

The  coroner's  jury,  summoned  by  Joseph  D.  Pownall, 
Esq.,  consisted  of  George  Whitson,  John  Kowland,  E.  Os- 
borne  Dare,  Hiram  Kinnard,  Samuel  Miller,  Lewis  Cooper, 
George  Firth,  William  Knott,  John  Hillis,  William  H. 
Millhouse,  Joseph  Richwine  and  Miller  Knott.  Their  find- 
ing was : 

"  That  on  the  morning  of  the  llth  inst.,  the  neighborhood 
was  thrown  into  an  excitement  by  the  above  deceased,  and 
some  five  or  six  persons  in  company  with  him,  making  an 
attack  upon  a  family  of  colored  persons,  living  in  said  Town- 
ship, near  the  Brick  Mill,  about  4  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
for  the  purpose  of  arresting  some  fugitive  slaves  as  they 
alleged,  many  of  the  colored  people  of  the  neighborhood  col- 
lected, and  there  was  considerable  firing  of  guns  and  other 


154838 


00  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

fire-arms  by  both  parties,  upon  the  arrival  of  some  of  the 
neighbors  at  the  place,  after  the  riot  had  subsided,  found  the 
above  deceased,  lying  upon  his  back  or  right  side  dead.  Upon 
a  post  mortem  examination  upon  the  body  of  the  said  de- 
ceased, made  by  Drs.  Patterson  and  Martin,  in  our  presence, 
we  believe  he  came  to  his  death  by  gun  shot  wounds  that  he 
received  in  the  above  mentioned  riot,  caused  by  some  person 
or  persons  to  us  unknown." 

Dr.  John  Martin  and  Dr.  A.  P.  Patterson  reported  offi- 
cially that  Gorsuch  came  to  his  death  by  a  gunshot  wound 
made  by  slug  or  heavy  shot,  occupying  the  upper  part  of  the 
right  breast,  and  that  there  was  an  incision  found  near  the 
frontal  bone,  produced  by  a  light  sharp  instrument,  and  a 
fracture  of  the  left  humerus  by  some  blunt  weapon. 

It  must  be  conceded,  even  at  this  distance  in  time,  the 
jury's  thermometer  of  popular  indignation  at  the  crime 
scarcely  registered  above  the  mark  of  "cold  neutrality." 

Scharf  s  history  of  Baltimore  County  states  that  on  Sep- 
tember 13th  and  15th  meetings  of  citizens  of  Baltimore 
County  were  held  to  take  action  in  the  premises.  Wm.  H. 
Freeman,  John  Wethered,  Samuel  Worthington,  Wm.  Mat- 
thews, Wm.  Taggart,  John  B.  Pearce,  Samuel  H.  Taggart, 
Wm.  Fell  Johnson,  Wm.  H.  Hoffman,  Edward  S.  Myers, 
John  Merryman,  and  Henry  Carroll  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  collect  all  the  facts  in  the  case  and  transmit  them  to 
Governor  Lowe,  in  order  that  he  might  lay  them  before  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  Another  committee,  con- 
sisting of  John  B.  Holmes,  Levi  K.  Bowen,  Dr.  Nicholas 
Hutchins,  J.  M.  McComas,  and  E.  Parsons,  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  gentlemen  who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Gor- 
such into  Pennsylvania.  A  meeting  at  Slader's  tavern,  on 
September  15th,  passed  resolutions  calling  upon  the  people 
of  each  district  of  the  county  to  elect  delegates  to  meet  at 
Cockeysville  on  October  4th  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
county  association,  and  recommending  the  formation  of  dis- 


THE     FIGHT.  39 

trict  associations  "for  the  protection  of  the  people  in  their 
slave  and  other  property."  An  indignation  meeting  of  six 
thousand  persons  was  held  at  Monument  Square,  Baltimore 
City,  on  September  15th,  at  which  Hon.  John  H.  T.  Jerome 
presided,  and  addresses  were  made  by  Z.  Collins  Lee,  Cole- 
man  Yellott,  Francis  Gallagher,  Samuel  H.  Taggart,  and 
Col.  George  W.  Hughes. 

While  some  of  the  conservative  newspapers  North  pro- 
foundly deprecated  the  tragedy  they  advised  a  subsidence  of 
excitement  and  agitation ;  but  in  Baltimore  and  further  South 
the  pro-slavery  journals  displayed  intense  feeling.  The 
Washington  "Republic"  especially  foreshadowed  prosecu- 
tions for  treason,  and,  a  few  days  after  the  riot,  said : 

"  One  would  suppose  from  the  advice  of  forcible  resistance, 
as  familiarly  given  by  the  Abolitionist,  that  they  are  quite 
unaware  that  there  is  any  such  crime  as  treason  recognized 
by  the  Constitution,  or  punished  with  death  by  the  laws  of 
the  United  States.  We  would  remind  them  that  not  only  is 
there  such  a  crime,  but  that  there  is  a  solemn  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  that  all  who  are  concerned  in  a  conspiracy 
which  ripens  into  treason,  whether  present  or  absent  from 
the  scene  of  actual  violence,  are  involved  in  the  same  liabili- 
ties as  the  immediate  actors.  If  they  engage  in  the  conspir- 
acy and  stimulate  the  treason,  they  may  keep  their  bodies 
from  the  affray  without  saving  their  necks  from  the  halter. 

"  It  would  be  very  much  to  the  advantage  of  society,  if  an 
example  could  be  made  of  some  of  these  pestilent  agitators, 
who  excite  the  ignorant  and  reckless  to  treasonable  violence, 
from  which  they  themselves  shrink,  but  who  are  not  only  in 
morals  but  in  law,  equally  guilty  and  equally  amenable  to 
punishment  with  the  victims  of  their  inflammatory  counsel." 


CHAPTEE  VII. 
THE  "PURSUIT"  AND  ARRESTS. 

Federal  and  State  Authorities  in  Conflict  —  "Rough  Riding"  the 
Valley  —  Numerous  and  Indiscriminate  Arrests  —  Hearings  in  Lan- 
caster and  Committals  to  Philadelphia. 

Whatever  anybody  was  doing  in  the  way  of  vindicating 
whatever  law  or  laws  had  been  violated,  the  perpetrators  of 
the  killing  were  being  allowed  to  escape.  There  were  no 
daily  newspapers  in  Lancaster  then  and  the  Philadelphia 
journals  of  Friday,  September  12th,  had  very  meagre  ac- 
counts of  the  affair.  But  meantime  the  Federal  officials  in 
Philadelphia  and  the  Commonwealth  authorities  in  Lancaster 
County  "  got  busy."  Constable  William  Proudfoot,  of  Sads- 
bury,  acted  under  the  direction  of  'Squire  Pownall  and  Dis- 
trict Attorney  John  L.  Thompson.  In  Philadelphia  John 
M.  Ashmead  was  United  States  Attorney,  and  Anthony  E. 
Roberts  was  Marshal.  When  District  Attorney  Thompson 
made  his  second  visit  to  the  scene  on  Saturday  following  the 
riot,  accompanied  by  a  "strong  party  of  armed  men,"  he 
found  there  the  United  States  Marshal,  District  Attorney  and 
Commissioner  "with  a  strong  force  of  U.  S.  Marines  and  a 
detachment  of  the  Philadelphia  police."  A  controversy  arose 
between  the  local  District  Attorney  Thompson  and  the  United 
States  Attorney  Ashmead  as  to  whether  the  prisoners  should 
be  held  for  murder  in  Lancaster  County,  or  for  treason 
against  the  United  States.  Commissioner  Ingraham  sus- 
tained the  latter  charge.  The  difficulty  was  adjusted  by  an 
agreement  that  each  party  should  make  its  own  arrests. 
Some  forty-five  United  States  Marines  who  went  to  Chris- 
tiana were  in  command  of  Lieutenants  Watson  and  Jones. 
United  States  Marshal  A.  E.  Roberts  had  a  civil  posse  of 

40 


CASTNER   HANWAY. 

TRIED    FOR    TREASON    AND    ACQUITTET. 


AND    AKRESTS.  41 

fifty.  There  were  county  constables  and  deputies  sheriff  on 
the  scene.  With  these  three  detachments  landed  in  a  little 
country  village  and  scouring  the  surrounding  farms,  of  whose 
inhabitants  half  the  many  blacks  had  fled  the  State  and  the 
other  half  were  in  hiding,  and  the  whites  mostly  suspected  of 
sympathy  with  the  fugitives,  a  local  reign  of  terror  ensued; 
"the  valley"  was  in  a  state  worse  than  subjection  to  martial 
law.  The  tendency  of  a  "little  brief  authority"  is  toward 
abuse  of  it;  and  the  class  of  persons  easily  secured  for  the 
service  then  required  of  temporary  officers  of  the  law  was 
not  such  as  to  insure  delicacy  of  treatment  or  tender  con- 
sideration for  the  objects  against  whom  their  summary  proc- 
esses were  directed.  Whites  and  blacks,  bond  and  free,  were 
rather  roughly  handled ;  few  households  in  the  region  searched 
were  safe  from  rude  intrusion ;  many  suffered  terrifying 
scenes  and  sounds. 

Peter  Woods,  sole  surviving  sufferer  and  prisoner  of  the 
occasion,  was  working  for  Joseph  Scarlet  when  he  and  his 
employer  were  arrested.  He  tells  his  story  thus  to  the  author 
of  this  history: 

"  The  day  the  fight  happened  I  was  up  very  early.  We 
were  to  have  '  a  kissing  party '  that  night  for  Henry  Eoberts ; 
and  as  I  wanted  to  get  off  early  I  asked  my  boss,  Joe  Scarlet, 
if  he  would  plough  if  I  got  up  ahead  and  spread  the  manure. 
I  started  at  it  at  two  o'clock.  The  morning  was  foggy  and  dull. 
About  daylight  Elijah  Lewis's  son  came  running  to  me  while 
I  was  getting  my  work  done,  and  said  the  kidnappers  were 
here.  They  came  to  Ellis  Irvin's  farm,  and  then  to  Milt 
Cooper's  which  is  known  as  the  Leaman  farm.  The  morn- 
ing of  the  riot  I  got  there  about  seven  or  eight  o'clock.  I 
met  some  of  them  coming  out  of  the  lane,  and  others  were  on 
a  run  from  the  house.  I  met  Hanway  on  a  bald-faced  sorrel 
horse  coming  down  the  long  lane,  and  his  party  with  him. 
The  other  party,  the  marshal  and  his  people,  took  to  the 
sprouts,  licking  out  for  all  they  could,  and  then  took  the 


42  THE     CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

Noble  road.  There  were  about  sixty  of  our  fellows  cbasing 
them.  The  strange  party  got  away.  I  got  hurt  by  being 
kicked  by  a  blind  colt  on  the  hip.  The  shooting  was  all 
over.  Gorsuch  had  been  killed  before  I  got  there.  The 
Gorsuch  party  was  riding  away  as  fast  as  they  could.  I 
guess  I  am  the  last  man  living  of  our  party. 

"When  Scarlet  was  arrested  they  were  rough  in  arresting 
him.  They  took  him  by  the  throat,  and  pointed  bayonets 
at  him  all  around  him.  I  said  to  myself  if  you  arrest  a  white 
man  like  that,  I  wonder  what  you  will  do  to  a  black  boy? 
The  arrests  were  made  a  day  or  two  after  the  riot.  I  was 
plowing  or  working  the  ground,  and  when  I  saw  the  officers 
come  to  make  the  arrests,  I  quickly  got  unhitched  and  went 
towards  Bushong's,  and  soon  there  was  six  of  us  together 
and  we  went  to  Dr.  Dingee's  graveyard  and  hid.  We  heard  a 
racket  of  horses  coming  and  then  we  jumped  into  the  grave- 
yard. This  was  two  days  after  the  riot.  We  hung  around 
Wm.  Rakestraw's  too;  and  he  said  we  could  have  something 
to  eat,  but  we  couldn't  stay  around  there.  Then  they  got  us. 
They  asked  George  Boone  and  James  Noble  who  we  are. 
The  man  with  the  mace,  the  marshal  I  guess,  said  '  I  got  a 
warrant  for  Peter  Woods.'  They  pointed  me  out  and  then 
he  struck  me  and  then  they  tried  to  throw  me.  They  ar- 
rested me  and  took  me  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  and  then  they  tied 
me.  Then  they  started  away  with  me  and  tried  to  get  me 
over  a  fence.  They  had  me  tied  around  my  legs  and  around 
my  breast,  and  they  put  me  in  a  buggy  and  took  me  to 
Christiana.  From  there  they  took  me  to  Lancaster,  and  put 
me  first  in  the  old  jail  and  then  in  the  new  prison." 

The  accuracy  of  Woods'  narrative  is  attested  by  the  his- 
torical record  that  at  that  very  time  the  new  Lancaster  County 
prison  was  just  ready  for  occupancy.  The  first  prisoners 
were  transferred  to  it  on  the  day  immediately  following  the 
riot  — September  12,  1851. 

Woods'  further  story  of  what  occurred  at  Christiana  has 


THE    "  PURSUIT  "  AND   AERE8TS.  43 

all  the  marks  of  verity:  "  There  at  Christiana  was  [David] 
Paul  Brown  and  Thad.  Stevens  and  Mr.  Black.  They  had 
quarters  in  '  Old  Harrar's '  store.  We  did  not  know  who  they 
were  counsel  for,  and  we  thought  they  were  threatening  us, 
and  trying  to  make  us  give  away  ourselves.  Thad.  Stevens 
or  some  one  said  to  me:  'Who  do  you  live  with?'  They 
had  just  brought  me  down  from  the  Harrar  garret,  and  Fred 
Zercher  was  there.  Mr.  Brown  then  asked  me  again  how  I 
got  up  there  into  that  garret,  who  put  me  there?  I  made 
up  my  mind  not  to  talk,  and  Brown  said,  '  If  you  don't  tell 
we  will  send  you  to  jail.'  Then  a  mutiny  broke  out  there. 
George  Boone  and  Proudfoot  and  others  got  in  it.  George 
commenced  striking  and  I  got  knocked  over.  Boone  was 
taking  my  part." 

Arrests  were  numerous  and  somewhat  indiscriminate  and 
the  charges  varied,  some  relating  to  State  and  others  to 
Federal  laws,  and  many  of  them  involving  capital  crimes  and 
death  penalties.  All  of  them  called  for  appearances  and 
preliminary  hearings  before  J.  Franklin  Reigart,  Esq.,  an 
alderman  of  Lancaster  City.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the  late 
Emanuel  C.  Reigart,  Esq.,  and  mingled  the  pursuits  of  let- 
ters and  law.  His  handsome  picture  in  lithograph  is  the 
frontispiece  of  his  somewhat  bizarre  biography  of  Robert 
Fulton,  now  something  of  a  curio,  once  the  ornament  of 
many  centre  tables  in  Lancaster  County. 

Alderman  Reigart  was  kept  busy  for  some  time  issuing 
warrants  and  having  hearings  that  attracted  great  attention, 
numerous  and  distinguished  lawyers  and  ever  increasing 
popular  interest.  Among  those  taken  into  custody  were 
Elijah  Lewis,  storekeeper  at  Cooperville;  Joseph  Scarlet, 
farmer  and  dealer;  Castner  Hanway,  miller  at  the  "Red 
Mill " ;  James  Jackson,  farmer ;  Samuel  Kendig,  all  white ; 
and  a  large  number  of  colored  men  and  women,  among  them, 
William  Brown  and  William  Brown,  2d,  Ezekiel  Thompson, 
Daniel  Caulsberro,  Emanuel  Smith,  John  Dobbins,  Lewis 


44  THE     CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

James  Christman,  Elijah  Clark,  Benjamin  Pendegress, 
Jonathan  Black,  Samuel  Hanson,  Mifflin  Flanders,  Wilson 
Jones,  Francis  Hawkins,  Benjamin  Thompson,  John  Halli- 
day,  Elizabeth  Mosey,  John  Morgan,  boy,  Joseph  Benn, 
John  Norton,  Lewis  Smith,  George  Washington,  Harvey 
Scott,  Susan  Clark,  Tamsy  Brown,  Eliza  Parker,  Hannah 
Pinckney,  Robert  Johnston,  Miller  Thompson,  Isaiah  Clark- 
son  and  Jonathan  Black.  The  officers  claimed  to  have  cap- 
tured on  the  persons  or  premises  of  some  of  them  heavily 
charged  guns,  dirks  and  clubs. 

The  examination  of  the  persons  charged  before  Alderman 
Reigart  for  complicity  in  the  affair  began  in  the  old  Lancas- 
ter County  Court  House,  in  Centre  Square,  on  Tuesday,  Sep- 
tember 23,  at  11  o'clock  A.M.  The  appearances  at  this  hear- 
ing for  the  prosecution  were  Attorney  General  R.  T.  Brent,  of 
Maryland,  John  M.  Ashmead,  United  States  Attorney,  Dis- 
trict Attorney  John  L.  Thompson,  Colonel  William  B.  Ford- 
ney  and  Attorney  General  Thomas  E.  Franklin.  For  the  de- 
fense, Thaddeus  Stevens,  George  Ford,  O.  J.  Dickey  and 
George  M.  Kline  appeared. 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  Pearce,  Miller  Knott  and  Deputy 
Marshal  Kline  was  relied  upon  to  make  out  a  prima  facie 
case.  It  was  at  this  hearing  George  Washington  Harvey 
Scott,  a  colored  man  (who  subsequently  changed  his  testi- 
mony in  Philadelphia,  and  swore  he  was  not  even  at  Par- 
ker's), testified  that  he  saw  Henry  Sims  shoot  Edward  Gor- 
such,  and  that  John  Morgan  afterwards  cut  him  on  the  head 
with  a  corn  cutter.  Lewis  Cooper  testified  that  John  Long, 
colored,  was  on  his  premises  the  evening  before  the  occur- 
rence "giving  notice."  He  was  with  Henry  Reynolds. 
Long  was  described  as  a  dark  mulatto,  five  and  one-half  feet 
high,  and  of  slender  make.  The  District  Attorney  argued  that 
the  offense  was  treason,  and  asked  that  the  persons  be  com- 
mitted to  answer  at  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Stevens  made  the  opening  speech  before  the  Alderman, 


THE    "PURSUIT"  AND    AKEESTS.  "45 

claiming  that  the  defendant  prisoners,  especially  Lewis  and 
Hanway,  had  not  been  identified  as  criminals  or  offenders; 
he  dwelt  npon  the  local  kidnappings  that  had  occurred  in  the 
night  time,  and  charged  William  Bear  and  Perry  Marsh 
with  participation  in  these  offenses;  he  produced  many  wit- 
nesses to  the  affair  and  to  prove  an  alibi  for  some  of  the 
colored  men,  especially  John  Morgan,  and  nothing  worse 
than  inaction  by  Hanway  and  Lewis. 

The  women  were  all  discharged;  and  some  of  the  men. 
The  names  of  those  who  were  remanded  to  Philadelphia  to 
await  trial  in  the  Federal  Courts  for  treason,  together  with 
some  others  subsequently  held,  and  some  indicted  in  their 
absence  and  never  apprehended,  will  be  found  in  the  report 
of  the  trial  later  in  this  history.  James  Jackson,  father  of 
William  Jackson,  now  of  Christiana  was  so  well  known  to 
Marshal  Koberts  that  he  was  released  "on  parole,"  though 
subsequently  indicted  for  treason.  Mrs.  Parker  and  Mrs. 
Pinckney  left  the  vicinity  and  made  their  way  to  their  hus- 
bands in  Canada. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  POLITICAL,  AFTERMATH. 

Partisans  Quick  to  Make  Capital  out  of  the  Occurrence  —  The  Demo- 
crats Aggressive  —  The  ' '  Silver  Grays ' '  Apologetic,  and  the  ' '  Woolly 
Heads ' '  on  the  Defensive  —  Effect  of  the  Christiana  Incident  on  the 
October  Elections. 

Thaddeus  Stevens  in  September,  1851,  was  serving  his 
second  term  as  Representative  of  the  Lancaster  County  dis- 
trict. As  an  anatgonist  of  Southern  ideas  relating  to 
slavery,  he  "  strode  down  the  aisles  "  of  the  House  with  a  good 
deal  more  erectness  of  bearing  than  Ingersoll  in  his  famous 
nominating  speech  ascribed  to  the  "  Plumed  Knight "  from 
Maine;  and  he  struck  the  shield  of  his  adversaries  with  a 
much  louder  ring  than  was  given  out  at  the  impact  of  Mr. 
Elaine's  lance.  To  his  individual  and  official  view  —  law  or 
no  law,  constitution  or  no  constitution  —  slavery  was  "a 
violation  of  the  rights  of  man  as  a  man  "  —  freedom  was  the 
law  of  nature.  Like  Mirabeau,  "  he  swallowed  all  formulas." 
But  he  was  a  lawyer,  as  well  as  a  politician  and  moralist,  and 
while  he  announced  his  "unchangeable  hostility  to  slavery 
in  every  form  in  every  place,"  he  also  avowed  his  "  deter- 
mination to  stan/1  by  all  the  compromises  of  the  constitution 
and  carry  them  into  faithful  effect"  —  much  as  he  disliked 
some  of  them,  they  were  not  "  now  open  for  consideration," 
nor  would  he  disturb  them.  This  again  was  practically  an 
admission  of  the  abstract  legal  right  of  the  master  to  re- 
claim the  fugitive. 

Mr.  Stevens  was  first  elected  to  Congress  in  1848,  when 
Gen.  Zachariah  Taylor  was  elected  President,  and  when  he 
died  (July  9,  1850),  and  Fillmore,  Vice  President  and  a 
Northern  Whig,  succeeded  him,  Stevens  had  been  elected  to 
a  second  term,  which  lasted  until  March  4,  1853. 
46 


THE    POLITICAL    AFTERMATH. 


47 


In  those  "good  old  days"  a  Congressman  had  some  in- 
fluence in  the  matter  of  Federal  appointments.  The  United 
States  Marshal,  who  executed  warrants  and  picked  jurors  in 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  was  Stevens'  personal  and  political 
friend,  Anthony  E.  Roberts.  Mr.  Roberts,  who  was  a  native 
of  Chester  County,  was  then  48  years  of  age  and  long  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  New  Holland.  He  had  been  sheriff  of  Lan- 
caster County  elected  in  1839  as  an  avowed  anti-Masonic 
candidate,  favored  by  Stevens.  He  was  with  him  an  active 
anti-Mason  and  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  1843,  but 
was  beaten  by  Jeremiah  Brown.  President  Taylor  ap- 
pointed him  Marshal  in  1849,  and  he  filled  the  office  until 
the  incoming  of  Pierce's  administration. 

The  Intelligencer  and  Journal,  then  edited  by  George 
Sanderson,  was  the  regular  organ  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  Lancaster  County.  It  was  a  weekly  publication,  and  at 
that  time  a  vigorous  and  exciting  campaign  for  the  State 
election  in  October  was  in  progress.  Col.  William  Bigler  of 
Clearfield  County  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Governor ; 
General  Seth  Clover  of  Clarion  County  for  Canal  Commis- 
sioner, and  for  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  the  first  ticket 
presented  by  the  Democratic  party  under  the  new  elective  sys- 
tem bore  the  illustrious  names  of  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  Somer- 
set; James  Campbell,  Philadelphia;  Ellis  Lewis,  Lancaster; 
John  B.  Gibson,  Cumberland,  and  Walter  H.  Lowrie, 
Allegheny. 

The  Whig  County  organ  was  the  Lancaster  Examiner  and 
Herald,  published  and  edited  by  Edward  C.  Darlington,  who 
was  a  conspicious  leader  of  what  was  then  known  as  the 
"Silver  Gray"  faction  of  his  party  —  being  opposed  by  the 
more  aggressive  anti-slavery  men,  of  whom  Thaddeus  Stevens 
was  the  leader,  and  whose  followers  were  derisively  styled 
"Woolly  Heads."  The  candidates  of  the  Whig  party  on 
the  State  ticket  were:  for  Governor,  William  F.  Johnston, 
Armstrong  County  (a  candidate  for  re-election)  ;  for  Canal 


48  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

Commissioner,  John  Strohm,  of  Lancaster  County,  and  for 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Richard  Coulter,  Westmore- 
land; Joshua  W.  Comly,  Montour;  George  Chambers, 
Franklin ;  William  M.  Meredith,  Philadelphia,  and  William 
Jessup,  Susquehanna. 

The  fact  that  the  entire  Supreme  Court  membership,  then 
numbering  five,  was  to  be  elected,  greatly  increased  popular 
interest  in  the  result.  Pennsylvania  was  an  October  State. 
The  Darlington  faction  of  the  Whig  party  was  in  the  ascend- 
ancy and  Darlington  himself  was  on  the  ticket  for  Senator. 
Moses  Pownall,  of  Sadsbury  Township,  was  one  of  the  Whig 
candidates  for  the  Assembly.  The  regular  Democratic  Coun- 
ty ticket  had  not  yet  been  nominated,  but  the  opponents  of 
Mr.  Buchanan,  who  were  stigmatized  as  disorganizers  and 
"  Frazer  Ponies,"  had  named  a  County  ticket. 

The  first  local  publications  of  the  tragic  occurrences  in  the 
Chester  Valley  appeared  respectively  in  the  Intelligencer  of 
September  16  and  the  Examiner  of  September  17,  and  their 
local  reports  of  the  affair  are  illustrative  not  only  of  the  lag- 
gard journalistic  enterprise  of  that  day,  but  of  the  intense 
partisanship  which  characterized  newspaper  management, 
colored  the  reports  of  news  occurrences  and  generally  per- 
vaded all  journalistic  work.  The  Intelligencer's  account  of 
the  affair  was  printed  under  a  Columbia  correspondent's 
"  Particulars  of  the  Horrible  Negro  Eiot  and  Murder,"  and 
the  editoral  additions  to  this  report  commented  on  the  dis- 
graceful conduct  of  the  "Abolition  Whig  Governor,  absent- 
ing himself  from  the  seat  of  government "  on  an  electioneer- 
ing tour,  while  riots  and  bloodshed  prevailed  throughout  the 
Commonwealth,  and  citizens  of  an  adjoining  State  were 
"murdered  in  our  midst."  All  these  outrages,  it  charged, 
could  be  traced  to  the  Executive  of  the  Commonwealth  — 
Governor  Johnston  was  then  serving  his  first  regular  term  — 
"roaming  about  in  quest  of  votes,  instead  of  being  at  his 
post  to  enforce  the  utmost  rigor  of  the  law  against  the  white 
and  black  murderers." 


'AFTER  THE  WAR  » 

YOUNGEST   GRtAT    GRANDCHILD    OF    EDWARD    GORSUO 


THE    POLITICAL    AFTEEMATH.  49 

Further  down  the  same  column  the  editor  rejoiced  that 
Hanway  and  Lewis  and  nine  negro  accessories  had  been  ar- 
rested and  were  in  prison  awaiting  trial  for  murder.  Dis- 
trict Attorney  John  L.  Thompson  and  Alderman  J.  Frank- 
lin Reigart  were  warmly  praised  for  "ferreting  out  and 
arresting  the  guilty  ones,"  while  the  deposition  of  Deputy 
Marshal  H.  H.  Kline  was  presented  as  a  most  satisfactory 
account  of  the  "whole  transaction." 

The  Examiner  promptly  declared  it  to  be  a  "  dreadful 
tragedy "  and  "  one  of  the  most  horrid  murders  ever  perpe- 
trated in  this  County  or  State."  Manifestly  with  one  eye 
upon  the  political  consequences  to  the  State  and  local  Whig 
ticket,  and  the  other  toward  the  Abolition  faction  of  the 
Whig  party,  to  which  Editor  Darlington  was  opposed,  his 
newspaper  frankly  admitted  that  an  awful  responsibility 
rested  somewhere,  and  the  Examiner  believed  it  to  be  "our 
duty  to  speak  loudly  and  distinctly  to  those  individuals  who 
evidently  have  urged  the  blacks  to  this  horrid  measure."  It 
deprecated  all  attempts  "  to  make  political  capital  out  of  the 
Sadsbury  treason  and  murder  by  connecting  Governor  Johns- 
ton's name  with  that  melancholy  affair.  Intelligent  readers 
will  regard  such  efforts  with  feelings  of  disgust  and  contempt." 
But  for  the  white  persons  under  arrest  and  charged  with 
murder  and  treason,  it  had  no  condonation.  "  Their  passions 
had  been  inflamed  by  Abolition  harangues  and  incendiary 
speeches  franked  by  members  of  Congress  until  they  had 
come  to  look  upon  treason  to  the  laws  of  their  country  as  a 
moral  duty,  and  upon  murder  as  not  a  crime."  It  declared 
that  this  was  especially  perceptible  and  prevailing  in  Sads- 
bury and  the  eastern  end  of  Bart;  it  recalled  with  special 
disapprobation  the  public  meeting  held  at  Georgetown,  when 
the  Griest  resolutions  were  passed. 

Much  indignation  was  expressed  by  his  political  opponents 
that  Governor  Johnston,  passing  through  Christiana  on  his 
4 


50  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

way  from  Harrisburg  to  Philadelphia,  on  a  campaign  tour, 
the  morning  of  the  affair,  did  not  get  off  his  train  at  Christi- 
ana where  lay  the  dead  body  of  the  Marylander,  slain  on 
Pennsylvania  soil ;  though  many  other  passengers  did  so  and 
the  train  stopped  almost  at  the  place  where  the  inquest  was 
to  be  held. 

Democratic  campaign  meetings  held  throughout  the  County 
were  quick  to  turn  their  sails  to  catch  the  currents  of  popu- 
lar opinion  and  at  an  assemblage  in  Columbia,  on  September 
13th,  N.  B.  Wolfe,  M.D.,  later  a  famous  citizen  of  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  principal  speaker,  denounced  "  the  horrid  murder 
of  Gorsuch"  "by  a  band  of  desperate  negroes  excited  and 
influenced  by  murderous  Abolitionists  whose  reeking  hands 
are  still  smoking  with  the  warm  life's  blood  of  a  fellow 
citizen." 

A  committee  of  conspicuous  Democrats  in  Philadelphia, 
including  Hon.  John  Cadwalader,  James  Page,  John  W. 
Forney,  A.  L.  Roumfort,  Charles  Ingersoll,  Joseph  Swift 
and  others,  in  an  "open  letter,"  loudly  demanded  of  the 
Governor  that  he  act  for  the  vindication  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  called  a  public  indignation  meeting  of  citizens 
in  Independence  Square.  The  Governor  responded  with  a 
rather  tart  letter  and  offered  $1,000  reward  for  the  arrest  of 
the  murderers.  (See  Addenda.) 

The  Intelligencer  continued  to  comment  on  the  tragedy 
as  "  the  legitimate  fruit  of  the  policies  pursued  by  Governor 
Johnston  and  Thaddeus  Stevens."  In  criticized  Johnston 
very  severely  for  having  passed  Christiana  without  institut- 
ing any  "  measures  to  bring  the  murderers  to  justice  "  before 
proceeding  on  his  way;  for  making  political  speeches  "in- 
stead of  seeing  that  the  perpetrators  of  treason  against  the 
government  and  the  most  bloody  murder  ever  committed  in 
this  State  were  brought  to  justice."  Governor  Johnston  was 
at  Ephrata  and  New  Holland  on  the  following  Saturday, 
he  came  to  Lancaster  on  Saturday  night,  left  at  midnight 


THE    POLITICAL    AFTERMATH. 


51 


for  Philadelphia,  and  arrived  there  about  five  o'clock  A.  M. 

Meantime  Eev.  J.  S.  Gorsuch,  son  of  Edward  Gorsuch  and 
brother  of  Dickinson,  wrote  to  the  Baltimore  Sun  an  account 
of  the  tragedy,  which  was  copied  into  the  Intelligencer  and 
other  Northern  papers  as  an  accurate  statement. 

Subsequently  he  published  an  open  letter  to  Governor 
Johnston,  arraigning  him  for  a  lack  of  official  promptness 
which  resulted  in  the  slaves  and  murderers  of  his  father 
escaping.  He  recalled  that  Johnston  had  refused  to  honor 
a  requisition  from  the  Governor  of  Maryland  for  the  free 
negro,  Abe  Johnson,  who  had  received  the  stolen  wheat,  and 
he  declares  that  that  same  Johnson  whose  return  was  refused 
by  the  Governor,  was  present  at  the  riot.  He  proceeded  to 
contrast  Johnston's  tardiness  with  "  the  decision,  energy  and 
promptness  of  the  Lancaster  County  officers,"  who,  he  said, 
"  had  to  collect  a  posse  of  men  from  iron  works  and  diggings 
on  the  railroad  "  to  enforce  the  processes  of  the  law. 

The  newspapers  report  that  Alderman  Reigart  was  "re- 
ceiving much  commendation  in  the  Southern  press  for  the 
ability  and  firmness  with  which  he  discharged  his  duties  as 
the  committing  magistrate."  In  the  Baltimore  Sun  of  Oc- 
tober 8,  Eev.  J.  S.  Gorsuch  had  another  open  letter,  this  time 
to  Attorney  General  Thomas  E.  Franklin.  Gorsuch  had  un- 
dertaken to  criticise  Governor  Johnston  without  in  any  way 
condemning  his  Attorney  General.  Mr.  Franklin  had  vin- 
dicated his  chief,  by  declaring  that  he  had  done  his  full 
duty,  and  as  his  legal  adviser  the  Attorney  General  accepted 
all  the  responsibility  for  the  Governor's  conduct. 

The  general  tendency  of  the  agitation  undoubtedly  was  to 
depress  the  campaign  prospects  of  the  Whigs.  Even  Phila- 
delphia was  extremely  conservative  and  desperately  anxious 
to  not  lose  the  trade  of  the  South.  Bigler  carried  the  State, 
receiving  186,499  votes  to  178,034  for  Johnston.  More  than 
that  slender  majority  could  be  accounted  for  by  the  Christi- 
ana riot.  In  Lancaster  County  the  vote  on  Governor  was: 


52  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

Democrat,  6,226,  Whig,  11,064.  What  might  have  happened 
had  Mr.  Stevens  been  a  candidate  for  Congress  cannot  now  be 
calculated.  He  had  been  re-elected  in  1850,  receiving  9,565 
votes,  to  5,464  for  Shaeffer.  In  1852  he  was  not  a  candidate. 
The  late  Hon.  Isaac  E.  Hiester  was  nominated  by  the  "  Silver 
Gray  Whigs,"  and  received  8,840  votes,  to  6,456  for  Sample, 
the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  opposition.  In  1854  Stevens 
was  not  a  candidate,  but  revenged  himself  on  Hiester  by 
running  Anthony  E.  Koberts,  the  same  who  had  been  U.  S. 
marshal  during  the  Christiana  riots.  There  was  a  three- 
cornered  fight  during  that  year.  Pollock,  Whig  candidate 
for  Governor,  had  the  support  of  the  Know  Nothings,  and 
defeated  Bigler  by  37,007  majority.  Lefevre  was  the  third 
candidate  for  Congress  in  Lancaster  County,  and  divided 
both  the  Roberts  and  Hiester  vote,  with  the  result  that 
Roberts  received  6,561,  Hiester  5,371  and  Lefevre  4,266. 
By  this  time  the  new  Republican  party  was  organized;  the 
Silver  Gray  Whigs  went  out  of  the  fight ;  Roberts,  Whig,  and 
Hiester,  Opposition,  were  again  the  candidates,  and,  although 
Buchanan  carried  Lancaster  County  by  a  plurality  of  2,123 
above  Fremont  and  4,139  above  Fillmore,  Roberts  was  elected 
to  Congress,  receiving  10,001  votes  to  Heister's  8,320.  In 
1858  Stevens  again  became  a  candidate  for  the  36th  Congress, 
and  was  elected  over  James  M.  Hopkins,  by  the  following 
vote:  Stevens,  9,513;  Hopkins,  6,341.  The  latter  had  been 
one  of  the  jury  in  "  the  treason  trial "  and  had  some  support 
from  Stevens'  Whig  opponents.  Stevens,  however,  got  some 
Democratic  aid.  Thenceforth  the  power  of  Darlington  and 
"  the  Silver  Grays  "  was  broken ;  Republicanism  was  in  the 
local  ascendancy  with  Stevens  as  its  leader ;  he  never  lost  his 
control  until  his  death — his  last  nomination  being  conferred 
upon  him  by  popular  vote  when  his  body  was  encoffined,  the 
ballots  having  been  printed  before  he  died. 

If  the  effect  of  the  agitation  elected  Bigler,  it  strengthened 
the  Buchanan  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  whose  choice 


THE    POLITICAL    AFTERMATH.  53 

the  Governor-elect  was.  If  it  was  not  able  to  control  the 
National  convention  of  1852,  it  succeeded  in  defeating  Cass, 
who  was  Buchanan's  chief  rival,  and  thus  was  helped  the 
nomination  of  the  Lancaster  County  candidate  for  Presi- 
dency in  1856.  Though  Bigler  was  defeated  for  a  second 
Gubernatorial  term,  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator  in 
1855.  The  election  of  four  Democratic  Supreme  Court 
Judges  in  Pennsylvania  in  1851  was  one  of  the  results  of  the 
Christiana  riot.  James  Campbell,  alone  of  the  Democratic 
nominees  was  defeated.  He  was  a  Catholic  and  the  Know 
Nothing  opposition  to  him  centred  upon  Coulter,  and  elected 
him ;  he  had  been  on  the  bench  1846—7.  Campbell  became 
Postmaster  General  under  Pierce. 

Meantime  the  dead  body  of  Edward  Gorsuch  was  taken  by 
rail  to  Columbia,  and  via  York  on  the  Northern  Central 
Railroad,  to  Monkton,  where  a  throng  of  mourning  neigh- 
bors met  it  and  great  local  excitement  prevailed.  There  being 
no  convenient  hearse  and  the  distance  too  long  for  pall- 
bearers, it  was  carried  by  the  four-horse  team  of  Eliphalet 
Parsons  to  Mr.  Gorsuch's  home.  There,  after  a  brief  service 
by  Rev.  Yinton,  it  was  committed  to  a  family  burying  ground, 
where  the  body  has  rested  undisturbed  for  sixty  years.  This 
private  graveyard  on  the  Gorsuch  farm  is  located  on  an 
eminence  in  the  midst  of  a  fine  orchard  of  apple  trees,  and 
overlooking  the  wide  expanse  of  country  to  the  southwest 
and  traversed  by  Piney  Run,  a  tributary  to  the  Gunpowder. 
The  graveyard  is  about  twenty-five  by  thirty-five  feet,  sur- 
rounded by  a  massive  stone  wall,  without  any  gate  or  en- 
trance. The  former  opening  to  it  was  walled  up  by  direc- 
tion of  and  with  a  legacy  left  for  that  purpose  by  a  son 
Thomas.  There  remain  three  low  gravestones,  of  uniform 
pattern,  the  central  one  of  which  has  the  initials  "E.  G." 
The  occupants  of  the  other  two  graves  are  unknown,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  who  they  were.  Rev.  John  S. 
Gorsuch,  son  of  Edward  and  who  was  very  conspicuous  in 


54  THE     CHRISTIANA    KIOT. 

the  agitation  over  his  killing,  was  formerly  buried  in  this 
graveyard,  but  his  remains  have  been  removed  therefrom. 
He  died  at  32  of  typhoid  fever  the  March  after  his  father,  and 
while  attending  a  M.E.  conference.  The  little  graveyard 
is  overgrown  with  myrtle.  Human  hands  have  not  desecrated 
it  in  any  way,  but  there  is  evidence  that  the  gnawing  teeth  of 
rodent  vandals  have  been  at  work  on  the  graves. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

BEFORE  THE  TRIAL. 

Popular  Discussion  Precedes  the  Arraignment  —  Legal  Questions  Eaised 
by  Eminent  Lawyers  —  Judge  Kane  takes  High  Ground  Against 
Treason  —  The  Selection  of  the  Jury  —  A  Eepresentative  Panel. 

Pending  the  arraignment  of  the  prisoners  in  the  United 
States  Court  for  treason,  the  affair  was  made  the  subject  of 
extended  popular  discussion.  Fiery  Southern  journals  and 
orators  reflected  the  views  that  had  been  early  expressed  by 
Governor  Lowe  to  President  Fillmore,  for  his  own  State  of 
Maryland,  that  if  slave  owners  could  not  without  incurring 
the  risk  of  death  pursue  their  property  North  and  reclaim  it, 
Secession  and  Disunion  were  inevitable.  Quite  as  fierce  and 
fiery  champions  of  Abolitionism  retorted  with  equal  fervor 
and  contempt  for  a  league  with  iniquity  and  a  covenant  with 
slavery,  and  for  a  "  flaunting  lie "  that  flung  the  banner  of 
freedom  over  a  human  race  in  chains.  The  large  mass  of 
conservative  citizens  stood  for  both  law  and  liberty;  and 
heard  with  sympathetic  ears  Webster's  great  and  eloquent 
pleas  for  "  Liberty  and  Union — one  and  inseparable." 

Joshua  E.  Giddings,  in  a  speech  at  Worcester,  in  the  early 
part  of  November,  before  the  trial,  publicly  rejoiced  in  the 
killing  of  Gorsuch  and  that  the  fugitives  "  stood  up  manfully 
in  defense  of  their  God-given  rights  and  shot  down  the 
miscreants,  who  had  come  with  the  desperate  purpose  of 
taking  them  again  to  the  land  of  slavery." 

It  is  a  notable  coincidence  that  just  at  this  time  the 
National  Era,  an  Abolition  paper  in  Washington,  D.  C., 
edited  by  Gamaliel  Bailey,  was  beginning  to  publish  as  a 
weekly  serial  the  first  and  copyrighted  edition  of  "Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin."  Neither  the  authoress  nor  the  general  reading 

55 


56  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

public  then  appreciated  the  power  and  interest  of  the  work, 
nor  until  it  appeared  later  in  book  form. 

The  rashness  of  the  Gorsuches  in  incurring  danger  and 
inviting  death  by  venturing  into  an  unfriendly  country  for 
an  unpopular  cause,  was  cited  in  mitigation  of  the  indict- 
ment against  a  whole  community  for  lawlessness.  The 
blunders  of  the  Deputy  Marshal  in  giving  his  official  errand 
the  aspect  of  a  warlike  incursion  was  urged  as  a  reasonable 
explanation  for  what  was  charged  as  popular  indifference  in 
the  locality  toward  a  dark  crime. 

Withal  lawyers  and  laymen  found  subject  for  protracted 
discussion  in  the  vexed  question  as  to  whether  it  was  "  trea- 
son " ;  and  what  degree  of  opposition  or  what  extent  of  resist- 
ance to  law  constituted  this  high  crime  of  such  infrequent 
occurrence. 

The  cases  of  the  Whiskey  Insurrectionists  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Aaron  Burr's  trial  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  had 
almost  faded  from  popular  memory.  But  there  were  those 
in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  who  recalled  some  of  the  echoes  of 
the  Fries  treason  case ;  and  its  analogies  with  the  impending 
trial  of  nearly  forty  Lancaster  County  people  were  curiously 
scanned  by  legal  pundits  on  the  Court  House  benches  and  by 
local  sages  on  the  country  store  boxes. 

The  case  of  United  States  vs.  John  Fries  arose  out  of  the 
opposition  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  in  Bucks,  North- 
ampton and  Berks  Counties  to  the  collection  of  a  direct 
Federal  tax  known  as  "  The  House  Tax."  Assessors  had  to 
measure  houses  to  levy  the  tax.  Hostile  public  meetings  were 
held  at  which  John  Fries  threatened  and  encouraged  armed 
resistance  to  the  tax.  Armed  and  with  martial  music  he  and 
his  followers  paraded  the  public  highways,  intimidating 
tax  officials,  denouncing  Congress  and  the  government  as 
"damned  rogues,"  etc.  Fries  had  two  trials,  in  both  of 
which  he  was  found  guilty  of  treason  and  sentenced  to  be 
hanged.  He  was  subsequently  pardoned  by  President  John 


HON.  JOHN   K.  KANE. 


BEFORE    THE    TRIAL.  57 

Adams.  He  was  originally  tried  and  convicted  before  Judges 
Iredell  and  Peters,  in  1799;  and  his  case  is  reported  in  3 
Dallas  (Fed.  Court  Rep.),  515. 

As  early  as  November  18,  1850,  Hon.  John  K.  Kane, 
United  States  District  Judge  at  Philadelphia,  had  charged 
the  Grand  Jury  at  some  length  —  and  not  without  consider- 
able personal  feeling  in  relation  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
statutes  —  on  the  subject  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Judge 
Kane  had  been  District  Attorney  and  he  was  Attorney  Gen- 
eral of  Pennsylvania  under  Governor  Shunk  from  Jan.  21, 
1845,  to  June  23,  1846.  His  appointment  as  Attorney  Gen- 
eral was  offensive  to  Mr.  Buchanan. 

Notwithstanding  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  the  Prigg  case  had  intimated  that  legislation  of  this  char- 
acter was  for  the  Federal  Government  and  not  for  the  State, 
Judge  Kane  severely  reprehended  the  Pennsylvania  Act  of 
1847,  which  repealed  the  acts  of  1826  and  1827,  delegating 
to  State  authorities  the  right  to  issue  warrants  for  fugitives ; 
he  declared  the  new  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  Congress  to  be 
little  different  from  the  Pennsylvania  statute  of  1826,  and 
he  depicted  the  results  of  the  Pennsylvania  law  in  these 
rather  lurid  terms:  "Fanatics  of  civil  discord  have,  mean- 
while, exulted  in  the  fresh  powers  of  harm  with  which  this 
state  of  things  invested  them;  and  the  country  has  been 
convulsed  in  its  length  and  breadth,  as  if  about  to  be  rent 
asunder,  and  tossed  in  fragments,  by  the  outbursting  of  a 
volcano." 

He  went  on  to  say  that  the  new  Federal  law  must  be 
obeyed,  and  the  penalties  for  violating  it  were  to  be  enforced 
without  fear,  favor  or  affection.  He  referred  to  his  district 
as  a  community  which  had  suffered  in  reputation  and  repose 
"  from  crimes  of  excitement,  turbulence  and  force,"  and  in- 
veighed against  disobedience  to  a  statute,  obstructing  officers 
of  the  law  and  deeds  of  violent  resistance  against  them. 

The  language  of  this  charge,  and  his  well-known  views  on 


58  THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

the  legal  and  political  aspects  of  the  question,  did  not  afford  a 
very  encouraging  outlook  for  those  who  were  to  be  tried  be- 
fore him  or  in  his  court.  These  very  natural  apprehensions 
were  increased,  when  his  charge  to  the  grand  jury  followed  on 
September  29,  1851.  He  briefly  reviewed  the  reported  facts 
of  the  Christiana  affair,  and  though  he  avowed  entire  free- 
dom from  any  impressions  of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the 
accused,  he  pointed  to  the  charges  made  against  them  as  suffi- 
cient to  establish  the  crime  of  treason  if  they  were  duly 
proved.  He  also  pointed  out  that  as  the  offence  of  treason 
was  not  triable  in  his  Court,  and  though  the  grand  jury  then 
empanelled  could  not  take  cognizance  of  the  indictments, 
his  learned  brother  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Hon.  Robert 
C.  Grier,  who  presided  in  this  circuit,  would  sit  on  the  trial 
of  the  cause.  Justice  Grier1  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  appointed 
by  President  Tyler  in  1844,  to  succeed  Henry  R.  Baldwin, 
deceased. 

The  result  of  the  submission  to  the  Grand  Inquest  for 
the  United  States  inquiring  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  the  August  Term,  1851,  was  that  they  found  true 
bills  for  treason  against  the  following  persons,  which  indict- 
ments were,  on  October  6,  1851,  remitted  from  the  District 
Court  to  the  Circuit  Court: 

1.  Castner  Hanway.  20.  Collister  Wilson. 

2.  Joseph  Scarlet.  21.  John  Jackson. 

3.  Elijah  Lewis.  22.  William  Brown. 

4.  James  Jackson.  23.  Isaiah  Clarkson. 

5.  George  Williams.  24.  Henry  Sims. 

6.  Jacob  Moore.  25.  Charles  Hunter. 

1  It  may  not  be  remembered  generally  that  Mr.  Justice  Grier  resigned 
from  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  to  take  effect  February  1,  1870.  On 
December  20,  1869,  President  Grant  sent  to  the  Senate  the  appointment 
of  Ex-Secretary  Edwin  M.  Stanton  to  succeed  him.  On  a  vote  to  confirm 
Stanton  there  were  46  yeas  and  11  nays.  He  was  commissioned  the 
same  day,  to  take  effect  February  7,  1870.  He  died  before  that  time 
and  Hon.  William  Strong,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed. 


BEFOEE    THE    TRIAL.  59 

7.  George  Keed.  26.  Lewis  Gates. 

8.  Benjamin  Johnson.        27.  Peter  Woods. 

9.  Daniel  Caulsberry.         28.  Lewis  Clarkson. 

10.  Alson  Pernsley.  29.  Nelson  Carter. 

11.  William  Brown,  2nd.  30.  William  Parker. 

12.  Henry  Green.  31.  John  Berry. 

13.  Elijah  Clark.  32.  William  Berry. 

14.  John  Holliday.  33.  Samuel  Williams. 

15.  William  Williams.  34.  Josh  Hammond. 

16.  Benjamin  Pindergast.  35.  Henry  Curtis. 

17.  John  Morgan.  36.  Washington  Williams. 

18.  Ezekiel  Thompson.  37.  William  Thomas. 

19.  Thomas  Butler.  38.  Nelson  Ford. 

The  District  Attorney  then  moved  for  a  venire  to  issue 
to  the  marshal,  who  was  commanded  to  return  108  jurors,  of 
whom  at  least  12  were  to  be  summoned  and  returned  from  Lan- 
caster County,  where  the  offenses  charged  were  perpetrated. 

The  selection  of  jurors  for  this  trial,  under  all  the  condi- 
tions we  have  tried  to  sketch  impartially,  was  a  delicate  and 
difficult  task  for  Marshal  Roberts  —  in  view  of  his  well- 
known  political  opinions  and  of  his  personal  and  partisan 
affiliations  with  Thaddeus  Stevens,  chief  counsel  for  the  de- 
fense from  start  to  finish.  The  character  and  associations  of 
the  members  of  the  panel  may  be  gathered  to  some  extent 
even  now  from  the  attitude  assumed  toward  them  by  counsel 
on  either  side.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  will  be  briefly  epito- 
mized the  disposition  made  of  those  whose  names  were  called. 
Keeping  it  in  mind,  the  author,  from  a  large  historical  ac- 
quaintance with  the  leading  men  of  that  period  in  the  coun- 
ties of  the  State  from  which  this  panel  was  chosen,  does  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  it  was  high  above  the  average  in  intelli- 
gence and  all  other  requisites  for  important  jury  service; 
that  it  was  eminently  representative  and  an  altogether  fit  and 
fair  enrollment.  This  opinion  is  not  only  now  justified,  but 
it  is  fairly  demanded  by  reason  of  the  criticism  Attorney 


60  THE     CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

General  Brent  made  in  his  report  to  Maryland's  Governor 
upon  the  disadvantage  to  which  the  prosecution  was  sub- 
jected in  the  personnel  of  the  venire. 

During  their  stay  in  Moyamensing  the  prisoners  suffered 
for  a  time  from  lack  of  heat  and  ventilation  until  conditions 
were  remedied.  Some  of  them  were  confined  in  the  Debtors' 
Apartments.  Witnesses  deemed  necessary  to  be  held  were 
detained  by  the  Government  under  pay  of  $1.25  per  day  to 
them.  Peter  Woods  relates  that  Ezekiel  Thompson  and 
Henry  Sims  engaged  so  frequently  in  loud  prayer  that  out- 
siders were  attracted  to  the  prison  walls  to  listen  to  them 
from  the  adjoining  sidewalks.  By  November  15th  it  tran- 
spired that  two  witnesses,  Peter  Washington  and  John  Clark, 
detained  in  the  Debtors'  Apartments,  had  escaped.  David 
Paul  Brown  said  one  of  them  was  important  for  his  client 
Joseph  Scarlet,  while  the  United  States  was  insistent  that  it 
needed  them  also.  Mr.  Brent  finds  cause  for  suspicion  and 
complaint  in  the  allegation  that  they  got  out  without  breaking 
a  lock  through  inside  treachery,  of  which  he  "  cheerfully " 
acquits  Marshal  Eoberts;  but  neither  throughout  nor  after 
the  trial  does  Mr.  Brent  present  himself  as  an  altogether 
cheerful  person. 


"ZEKE"  THOMPSON, 


CHAPTEK  X. 

"THE  TBEASON  TRIALS." 

Differences  of  Opinion  Among  Counsel  for  the  Government  —  A  Bril- 
liant Array  of  Lawyers  —  Selecting  Twelve  Men,  "Good  and  True," 
from  a  Large  Venire  —  The  Prisoners  Arraigned  and  Pleas  Entered. 

In  the  so-called  official  report  of  the  Castner  Hanway 
trial,  which  involved  the  final  disposition  of  all  the  treason 
cases,  it  is  fitly  stated  by  the  author  and  editor  that  "  the 
ability  which  marked  the  trial  throughout,  the  patient  atten- 
tion of  the  judges,  the  eloquence  and  learning  of  the  Counsel, 
and  the  full  examination  of  every  matter  of  fact  and  law  in 
any  manner  involved,  gave  to  the  trial  a  deep  and  abiding 
importance,  such  as  will  make  its  perusal  interesting  to  the 
general  reader,  and  of  indispensable  use  to  the  Legal  Pro- 
fession." It  is  not  to  be  expected,  however,  that  a  detailed 
report  of  these  proceedings  or  a  presentation  of  their  technical 
aspect  falls  within  the  scope  or  prescribed  limits  of  this 
sketch.  Those  desirous  of  perusing  them  can  get  access  to 
Mr.  Bobbins'  report  in  many  libraries ;  lawyers  will  find  the 
case  reported  for  their  special  benefit  in  Vol.  II  of  Wallace's 
Eeport  of  Circuit  Court  Cases  for  the  Third  District,  pp. 
134-208.  The  report  of  Attorney  General  Brent  and  the 
message  of  Governor  Lowe,  in  the  Maryland  State  Docu- 
ments, 1852,  constitute  an  interesting  history  of  the  facts 
and  valuable  discussion  of  the  law ;  and  Mr.  Jackson's  reply 
undoubtedly  corrects  and  modifies  some  of  the  impressions 
that  the  complaints  of  the  Marylanders  would  tend  to  create. 

Even  outside  of  these  quasi-official  documents  there  remain 
signs  that  there  was  some  division  of  counsel,  if  not  conflict 
of  opinion,  among  those  engaged  in  the  prosecution  as  to  the 
most  expedient  course  to  take  and  the  more  effective  remedy 

61 


62 


THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 


to  apply  to  the  broken  law.  Whatever  the  private  opinion  of 
TJ.  S.  District  Attorney  Ashmead  may  have  been,  his  presen- 
tation of  the  case  and  his  entire  part  in  the  trial  evinced  no 
lack  of  preparation  or  ability  and  no  want  of  sincerity  in  the 
Government's  cause.  He  shrank  from  no  responsibility  that 
his  position  imposed.  He  was,  moreover,  the  direct  represen- 
tative of  the  Law  Department  of  the  Fillmore  administra- 
tion. His  chief  was  Attorney  General  John  J.  Crittenden 
and  Daniel  Webster  was  the  premier  of  that  Cabinet.  There 
was  at  that  time  no  "  Department  of  Justice  "  as  now  organ- 
ized; there  was  simply  the  office  of  the  Attorney  General, 
and  an  investigation  of  the  archives  of  the  Department  fails 
to  disclose  anything  whatever  with  respect  to  the  affray  or 
the  trials.  There  is,  however,  authority  for  the  statement 
that  the  final  determination  to  prosecute  for  treason  was  made 
by  Webster  and  Crittenden,  who  concluded  and  advised  "  that 
even  if  a  conviction  were  not  obtained,  the  effect  of  the  trial 
would  be  salutary  in  checking  Northern  opposition  to  the 
enforcement  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act." 

Some  question  of  professional  etiquette  arose  between 
counsel  who  appeared  for  the  State  of  Maryland  and  those 
who  represented  the  United  States  by  direct  employment  for 
the  Government.  Mr.  Brent  reports  that  this  was  "satis- 
factorily adjusted  in  a  personal  interview"  with  Mr.  Ash- 
mead.  He  further  says: 

"This  gentleman,  in  the  presence  of  the  Hon.  James 
Cooper,  tendered  to  me  the  position  of  leading  counsel  in 
these  trials,  which  I  promptly  declined,  on  the  ground  that  I 
never  had  claimed  such  precedence  for  myself,  as  well  as  on 
grounds  of  policy  and  expediency  for  the  prosecution. 

"  It  was  then  agreed  that  the  Hon.  James  Cooper,  of  Penn- 
sylvania (the  distinguished  colleague  associated  with  me  for 
the  State  of  Maryland),  should  occupy  the  position  of  leading 
counsel,  which  he  did  with  fidelity  and  signal  ability.  I 
will  here  take  occasion  to  remark  that,  however  unfortunate 


JOHN   W.  ASHMEAD. 

ITTORNEY    WHO   CONDUCTED    THf    PROSECUTION. 


"  THE    TREASON    TRIALS."  63 

the  preliminary  difficulty  between  Mr.  Ashmead  and  myself, 
and  however  prejudicial  it  may  have  been  to  the  development 
of  the  evidence,  by  preventing  that  early  interchange  of  views 
and  information,  which  was  necessary  to  a  thorough  prepa- 
ration of  these  important  cases,  yet  I  received  during  the 
trial  every  social  and  professional  courtesy  at  the  hands  of 
that  gentleman,  and  he  was  at  all  times  prompt  to  act  upon 
any  suggestion  which  might  be  made  by  either  Mr.  Cooper 
or  myself." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  nature  of  their  difficulties 
or  the  character  of  their  settlement,  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
"girding"  during  the  trial  from  the  defense  at  the  relations 
of  the  various  opposing  counsel ;  and  there  was  some  recrimi- 
nation after  the  Government's  defeat  over  the  responsibility 
for  what  its  representatives  thought  was  a  miscarriage  of 
justice.  When  the  lawyers  were  finally  lined  up  the  record 
showed  these  appearances :  U.  S.  Atty.  J.  W.  Ashmead, 
G.  L.  Ashmead  and  J.  R.  Ludlow  represented  the  United 
States:  R.  J.  Brent,  Attorney  General  of  Maryland,  James 
Cooper,  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  for  Pennsylvania, 
and  R.  M.  Lee,  of  Philadelphia,  appeared  as  special  counsel ; 
Mr.  Brent  by  order  of  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  of  which 
State  Mr.  Gorsuch  was  a  citizen;  Mr.  Cooper  and  Lee  also 
private  counsel  of  Mr.  Gorsuch's  relatives:  For  the  prisoner, 
J.  J.  Lewis,  of  West  Chester,  Th.  Stevens,  of  Lancaster,  John 
M.  Read,  T.  A.  Cuyler  and  W.  A.  Jackson,  of  Philadelphia. 

David  Paul  Brown  also  sat  at  the  prisoners'  counsel  table ; 
he  appeared  for  Joseph  Scarlet,  whose  case,  with  that  of 
others,  depended  on  the  result  of  Hanway's  trial. 

Most  of  these  names  will  be  remembered  by  the  general 
reader  as  already  eminent  or  soon  to  so  become.  The  Ash- 
meads  were  notably  able  lawyers;  Mr.  Brent  had  high  pro- 
fessional position ;  James  Cooper  was  then  United  States  Sen- 
ator, from  Pennsylvania;  Ludlow  later  became  a  member  of 
the  Philadelphia  judiciary;  Lewis  of  West  Chester  and  Ste- 


64  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

vens  of  Lancaster  were  leaders  of  their  respective  county 
bars.  John  M.  Head  was  later  to  be  a  member  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Pennsylvania.  Theo.  A.  Cuyler  was  long 
one  of  the  foremost  of  Philadelphia's  lawyers.  Mr.  Jackson, 
junior  counsel  and  historian  of  the  defense,  died  Jan.  10, 
1857,  aged  29,  and  after  less  than  six  years  his  promising 
career  ended. 

The  trial  was  held  in  the  second  story  room  of  old  Inde- 
pendence Hall  and  sentimentalists  speculated  as  to  whether 
the  cause  of  Law  or  of  Liberty  would  prevail  in  a  historic 
building  consecrated  to  both  these  vital  principles  of  organ- 
ized society.  It  had  been  refitted  for  the  occasion  with  new 
gas  fixtures  and  special  ventilating  devices.  The  opening  day 
did  not  attract  the  concourse  that  thronged  the  chamber 
and  corridors  as  the  trial  progressed,  but  the  seating  capacity 
of  the  room  was  fully  occupied. 

Court  opened  at  11  A.M.  Monday,  November  24,  1851. 
Seventy-eight  jurors  answered;  and  Judge  Grier  ordered  a 
call  of  the  defaulters  under  promise  of  a  $100  fine  to  those 
who  were  in  default  until  next  morning.  Jurors  called  and 
some  missing  then  began  with  one  accord  to  make  excuse. 
Before  the  session  adjourned  eighty-one  answered  and  it  ap- 
peared that  nineteen  had  been  previously  excused.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  for  reporting  the  proceedings;  there  was 
some  discussion  over  the  impanelling  of  the  jurors,  but 
nobody  was  disposed  to  quash  or  continue ;  the  prisoner,  Cast- 
ner  Hanway,  was  arraigned  and  pleaded.  The  questions 
to  jurors  were  framed  upon  the  replies  to  which  challenges 
were  to  be  based;  and  the  first  juror,  David  George,  was 
called  on  the  second  day  of  the  trial. 

Thence  the  selection  of  jurors  proceeded  until  twelve  men 
were  secured  satisfactory  to  both  sides.  This  occupied  the 
Court  until  Wednesday  evening.  Next  day  being  Thanks- 
giving the  trial  was  adjourned  until  Friday  morning,  the 
jury  selected  being  accommodated  and  lodged  at  the  Ameri- 
can Hotel,  opposite  the  old  State  House. 


"  THE    TBEASON    TRIALS."  65 

An  essential  part  of  this  narrative,  in  its  political  and 
popular  interest,  is  the  personnel  of  the  entire  panel  of 
jurors,  which  contained  eight  names  more  than  the  venire 
called  for.  It  is  here  given  with  brief  memoranda  abstracted 
from  the  official  report,  indicating  what  disposition  was 
made  of  each  person  called.  Where  there  are  no  comments 
the  juror  was  not  called;  and  the  twelve  finally  sworn  are 
each  marked  with  a  *  : 

1.  Adams,  Peter,  Farmer,  Mohnsville  P.  O.,  Berks  County. 

2.  Baldwin,   Matthias  W.,   Machinist,   335   Spruce  St., 
Philadelphia.      Founder  of  Baldwin's   Locomotive  Works. 
Stood  aside. 

3.  Barclay,  Andrew  C.,  Gentleman,  147  Arch  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.    Challenged  by  defendant;  had  an  opinion. 

4.  Bazley,     John    T.,    Gentleman,     Doylestown,    Bucks 
County.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

5.  Beck,  John,  Professor,  Lititz,  Lancaster  Co.     Principal 
of  famous  Boys'  School ;  Excused  at  Mr.  Stevens'  instance 
because  "the  school  could  not  get  on  without  him;"  grand- 
father of  Hon.  Jas.  M.  Beck. 

6.  Bell,    Samuel,    Gentleman,    Reading,    Berks    County. 
Associate  (Lay)  judge  and  excused.    Father  of  Sam'l.  Bell, 
late  Clerk  U.  S.  Court,  Philadelphia. 

7.  Brady,  Patrick,  Merchant,  397  Arch  St.,  Philadelphia. 
Challenged  by  prisoner  for  opinion.      Prominent   citizen; 
founder  of  conspicuous  family. 

8.  Breck,  Samuel,  Gentleman,  Arch  St.,  west  of  Broad, 
Philadelphia.     Prominent  citizen;  aged  81  and  deaf;  Ex- 
cused. 

9.  Brinton,  Ferree,  Merchant,  Belmont  P.  O.,  Lancaster 
Co.    Later  associate  judge ;  father-in-law  of  Judge  Wiltbank, 
of  Philadelphia.    Stood  aside. 

10.  Broadhead,  Albert  G.,  Farmer,  Delaware  P.  0.,  Pike 
Co.    Deficient  hearing  and  frequent  headaches ;  Excused. 

11.  Brown,  John  A.,  Merchant,  S.E.  Cor.  12th  and  Chest- 
5 


66  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

nut  Sts.,  Phila.,  one  of  the  founders  of  great  Brown  Bros, 
banking  house.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

12.  Brown,  Joseph  D.,  Gentleman,  167  Arch  St.,  Phila- 
delphia. 

13.  Brush,  George  G.,  Merchant,  Washington,  Lancaster 
Co.     A  prominent  citizen  and  Democrat.     Challenged  by 
prisoner. 

14.  Butler,  Eobert,  Clerk,  Mauch  Chunk,  Carbon  Co. 

15.  Cadwalader,  George.    General  in  Mexican  War.    Gen- 
tleman, 299  Chestnut  St.,  Philadelphia.      Excused  tempo- 
rarily.    Prominent   Philadelphia   Democrat.     Subsequently 
called  and  challenged  by  prisoner. 

16.  Cameron,  Simon,  Gentleman,  Middletown,  Dauphin 
Co.    Ex  U.  S.  Senator.    Unwell  and  temporarily  excused. 

17.  Campbell,  Hugh,  Merchant,  33  Girard  Street,  Phila- 
delphia. 

18.  Clendenin,  John,  Gentleman,  Hoagstown,  Cumberland 
Co.    Challenged  by  defendant. 

19.  Cockley,   David,   Machinist,   Lancaster  City.      Chal- 
lenged by  U.  S.  for  opinion. 

20.  Cook,  Jonathan,  Gentleman,  Allentown,  Lehigh  Co. 
Challenged  for  opinion  by  defendant. 

21.  Coolbaugh,  Moses  W.,  Farmer,  Coolbaugh  P.  O.,  Mon- 
roe County.     Prominent  Democrat.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

22.  *Connelly,  Thomas,  Carpenter,  Beaver  Meadow,  Car- 
bon Co.    Accepted  and  sworn  (3). 

23.  Cope,  Caleb,  Merchant,  Walnut  &  Quince  Sts.,  Phila- 
delphia.    Applied  for  excuse ;  refused  as  he  was  "  not  over 
60."     Recalled  and  not  answering,  fined.     Subsequently  re- 
mitted on  account  of  ill  health. 

24.  *Cowden,  James,  Merchant,  Columbia,  Lancaster  Co. 
Stood  aside  at  first,  finally  accepted  (12).     He  was  largely 
engaged  in  transportation,   having  a  line  of  boats  on  the 
Pennsylvania  canal  and  cars  on  the  railroad.     He  had  been 
a  Whig  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1850.     Father-in-law 
of  J.  Al.  Meyers,  president  of  Columbia  National  Bank. 


67 

25.  Culbertson,  Joseph,  Gentleman,  Chambersburg,  Frank- 
lin Co.    "  Excused  for  age,  hardness  of  hearing  and  vertigo." 

26.  Darby,  John,  Gentleman,  Fayetteville,  Franklin  Co. 
Enfeebled ;  deaf ;  excused. 

27.  Davies,  Edward,  Gentleman,  Churchtown,  Lancaster 
Co.     Stood  aside. 

28.  Deshong,  John  O.,  Gentleman,  Chester,  Delaware  Co. 
Stood  aside.     Distinguished  banker  and  citizen. 

29.  Diller,   Solomon,   Farmer,   New  Holland,   Lancaster 
Co.    Stood  aside. 

30.  Elder,   Joshua,   Farmer,   Harrisburg,    Dauphin   Co. 
Stood  aside. 

31.  Dillinger,  Jacob,  Gentleman,  Allentown,  Lehigh  Co. 
Excused  because  of  "kidney  trouble."     Conspicuous  Demo- 
crat. 

32.  *Elliot,  Robert,  Farmer,  Ickesburg,  Perry  Co.     Ac- 
cepted and  sworn  (2). 

33.  Ewing,  Robert,  Merchant,  446  Walnut  St.,  Philadel- 
phia.    Challenged  by  defendant. 

34.  *Fenton,   Ephraim,   Farmer,   Upper  Dublin  P.   O., 
Montgomery  Co.     Stood  aside.     Subsequently  recalled  and 
accepted  (11). 

35.  Fraley,  Frederick,  Gentleman,  365  Race  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.   President  of  Schuylkill  Navigation  Company;  Ex- 
cused temporarily.     Conspicuous  citizen.     Treasurer  Cen- 
tennial Commission  in  1876. 

36.  George,  David,  Gentleman,  Blockley,  West  Phila.  P. 
O.,  Philadelphia  Co.    Stood  aside.    Recalled  and  challenged 
by  U.  S. 

37.  Gowen,    James,    Gentleman,    Germantown,    Philadel- 
phia Co.     Father  of  P.  &  R.  President  F.  B.  Gowen  and  of 
James  E.  Gowen,  distinguished  lawyer.    Challenged  by  pris- 
oner.    Democrat. 

38.  Grosh,   Jacob,   Gentleman,   Marietta,   Lancaster   Co. 


68  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

Political  friend  of  Stevens.    Associate  (lay)  judge,  1842-47. 
Stood  aside. 

39.  Hammer,   Jacob,   Merchant,   Orwigsburg,    Schuylkill 
Co.    Associate  (lay)  Judge ;  excused  on  account  of  his  wife's 
illness. 

40.  Harper,    James,    Gentleman,    Walnut  &  Schuylkill 
Fifth  Sts.,  Phila.     Leading  manufacturer  of  bricks;  built 
house  now  occupied  by  Bittenhouse  Club,  1811  Walnut  Street. 
Challenged  by  prisoner. 

41.  Hazard,  Erskine,  Gentleman,  Ninth  &  Chestnut  Sts., 
Philadelphia.     Father-in-law  of  Samuel  Dickson,  later  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Philadelphia  bar.     Challenged  by  the 
prisoner.     Whig.     One  of  the  founders  of  Lehigh  Coal  and 
Navigation  Co.  and  of  Crane  Iron  Co. 

42.  Hippie,    Frederick,    Farmer,    Bainbridge,    Lancaster 
Co.     Stood  aside. 

43.  Hitner,  Daniel  O.,  Farmer,  Whitemarsh,  Montgomery 
Co.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

44.  *Hopkins,  James  M.,  Farmer,  Buck  P.  O.,  Drumore 
Twp.,    Lancaster    Co.      Ironmaster,     Conowingo    furnace. 
Fusion  Candidate  for  Congress   against   Stevens  in   1858. 
Accepted  (7). 

45.  Horn,  John,  Gentleman,  16  Broad  St.,  Philadelphia. 
Biased  in  favor  of  defendant  and  challenged  for  cause  by 
U.S. 

46.  Hummel,  Valentine,  Merchant,  Harrisburg,  Dauphin 
Co. 

47.  Jenks,  Michael  H.,  Gentleman,  Newton,  Bucks  Co. 

48.  *Junkin,  John,  Farmer,  Landisburg,  Perry  Co.     Ac- 
cepted (8). 

49.  Keim,  William  H.,  Merchant,  Heading,  Berks  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

50.  Keyser,  Elhanan  W.,  Merchant,  144  North  Ninth  St., 
Philadelphia. 

51.  Kichline,  Jacob,  Farmer,  Lowei  Saucon  P.  O.,  North- 
ampton Co.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 


69 

52.  Kinnard,  John  H.,  Farmer,  West  Whiteland  P.  O., 
Chester  Co.    Stood  aside. 

53.  Krause,  John,  Clerk,  Lebanon,  Lebanon  Co.     Stood 
aside ;  had  conscientious  scruples  against  death  penalty. 

54.  Kuhn,  Hartman,  Gentleman,  314  Chestnut  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.    Conspicuous  citizen;  descendant  of  old  Lancaster 
family ;  Challenged  by  U.  S.  for  opinion. 

55.  Ladley,  George,  Farmer,  Oxford  P.  O.,  Chester  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

56.  Leiper,  George  G.,  Farmer,  Leiperville,  Delaware  Co. 
Associate  (lay)  judge;  excused.     Prominent  Democrat  and 
intimate  friend  of  James  Buchanan,  to  his  latest  day. 

57.  Lewis,  Lawrence,  Gentleman,  345  Chestnut  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.   President  Mutual  Insurance  Company;  very  busy. 
Excused  for  a  fortnight. 

58.  Luther,  Diller,  Gentleman,  Eeading,  Berks  Co.    Chal- 
lenged by  prisoner. 

59.  Lyons,  David,  Farmer,  Haverford  P.  O.,  Delaware  Co. 
Challenged  by  prisoner. 

60.  McConkey,   James,   Merchant,    Peachbottom   P.    O., 
York  Co.     Deaf  and  deputy  postmaster;  excused.     Of  old 
Democratic  family. 

61.  Mcllvaine,   Abraham  E.,   Farmer,   Wallace   P.    O., 
Chester  County. 

62.  McKean,  Thomas,  Gentleman,  356  Spruce  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.    Excused  on  account  of  illness.     Leading  citizen 
and  member  of  distinguished  family. 

63.  Madeira,     George    A.,     Gentleman,     Chambersburg, 
Franklin  Co.     Stood  aside. 

64.  Mark,    George,    Gentleman,    Lebanon,    Lebanon    Co. 
Stood  aside. 

65.  *Martin,  Peter,  Surveyor,  Ephrata  P.  O.,  Lancaster 
Co.     Anti-Buchanan  Democrat;  later  associate  judge  and 
prothonotary ;  "was  under  the  impression  offense  might  be 
treason."    Accepted  (4). 


70  THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

66.  Massey,  Charles,  Merchant,  170  Arch  St.  Philadel- 
phia.    Excused  on  account  of  ill  health. 

67.  Mather,  Isaac,  Farmer,  Jenkintown,  Montgomery  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

68.  Merkle,  Levi,  Farmer,  Shiremanstown,  Cumberland 
Co.     Stood  aside. 

69.  Michler,  Peter  S.,  Merchant,  Easton,  Northampton 
Co.     Prominent  in  social  and  business  circles. 

70.  Miller,  John,  Gentleman,  Heading,  Berks  Co.    Chal- 
lenged by  the  prisoner.     Excused. 

71.  Moore,  Marmaduke,  Merchant,  153  North  Thirteenth 
St.,  Philadelphia.     A  prominent  Democrat.     Challenged  by 
prisoner. 

72.  Morton,  Sketchley,  Farmer,  Gibbon's  Tavern  P.  O., 
Delaware  Co.     Stood  aside. 

73.  Myers,  Isaac,  Merchant,  Port  Carbon,  Schuylkill  Co. 

74.  Neff,  John  E.,  Merchant,  124  Spruce  St.,  Philadel- 
phia.    Excused  for  absence  from  the  State. 

75.  Newcomer,  Martin,  Innkeeper,  Chambersburg,  Frank- 
lin Co.     Challenged  by  U.  S.  for  opinion. 

76.  *Newman,  Solomon,  Smith,  Milford,  Pike  Co.    First 
juror  drawn.     Stood  aside.     Subsequently  accepted   (9). 

77.  Palmer,  Strange  N.,  Editor,  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

78.  Patterson,  Kobert,  Merchant,  S.  W.  cor.  Thirteenth 
and  Locust  Sts.     General  in  Mexican  and  Civil  wars.     Had 
decided  opinions.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

79.  Penny,  James,  Farmer,  Liberty  Square  P.  O.,  Dru- 
more  Twp.,  Lancaster  County.     Stood  aside.     Neighbor  to 
Quaker  Abolitionists. 

80.  Platt,  William,  Merchant,  343  Chestnut  St.  Phila- 
delphia.    Excused  because  of  ill  health. 

81.  Preston,  Paul  S.,  Merchant,  Stockport,  Wayne  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

82.  Reynolds,  John,  Gentleman,  Lancaster  City.    Father 


71 

of  Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds  and  Admiral  Wm.  Reynolds  and 
former  proprietor  of  a  Democratic  newspaper  in  Lancaster. 
Examined  at  length ;  showed  disfavor  to  defendants  and  was 
challenged  peremptorily  by  Stevens. 

83.  Rich,   Josiah,   Farmer,  Danboro   P.   O.,  Bucks  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

84.  Richards,  Matthias,  Gentleman,  Reading,  Berks  Co. 
Challenged  by  prisoner. 

85.  Richardson,   John,   Gentleman,   Spruce  St.,  west  of 
Broad,  Philadelphia.     President  of  Bank  of  North  America. 
Excused  temporarily  for  bronchial  affection. 

86.  Rogers,  Evan,  Gentleman,  Locust  St.  and  Washington 
Square.     Man  of  large  wealth ;  father  of  Fairman  Rogers  and 
father-in-law  of  Dr.  Horace  Howard  Furness,  Shakespearean 
scholar.     Challenged  for  cause  by  defendant. 

87.  Ross,  Hugh,  Farmer,  Lower  Chanceford  Co.,  York 
Co.     Challenged    for   cause   by   defendant.     Scotch   Irish, 
Presbyterian,  Democrat. 

88.  Rupp,  John,  Farmer,  Mechanicsburg  P.  O.,  Hamp- 
den  Twp.,  Cumberland  Co.     Associate  judge;  excused  tem- 
porarily.   Recalled  and  challenged  by  U.  S.  because  he  was 
opposed  to  death  penalty. 

89.  Rutherford,  John  B.,  Farmer,  Harrisburg,  Dauphin 
Co.,  of  distinguished  family.     Stood  aside. 

90.  *Saddler,  William  R.,  York  Sulphur  Springs  P.  0., 
Adams  Co.    Accepted  (6). 

91.  Saylor,  Charles,  Merchant,  Saylorsburg,  Monroe  Co. 
Postmaster.     Excused. 

92.  Schroeder,    John    S.,    Clerk,    Reading,    Berks    Co. 
Challenged  by  prisoner. 

93.  Small,  Samuel,  Merchant,  York,  York  Co.   Prominent 
citizen  and  representative  of  notable  family.    Stood  aside. 

94.  Smith,  George,  Farmer,  Upper  Darby  P.  O.,  Dela- 
ware Co.     Stood  aside. 

95.  Smith,  John,   Smith,  Jenkintown,  Montgomery  Co. 


72 


THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 


Challenged  by  defendant;   extended  discussion;   challenge 
sustained. 

96.  *Smith,  Eobert,  Gentleman,  Gettysburg,  Adams  Co. 
Accepted  (5). 

97.  Smyser,  Philip,  Gentleman,  York,  York  Co.     Chal- 
lenged for  cause. 

98.  Starbird,    Franklin,    Farmer,    Stroudsburg,    Monroe 
Co.    Stood  aside. 

99.  Stavely,  William,  Farmer,  Lahaska  P.  O.,  Bucks  Co. 
Challenged  by  prisoner. 

100.  Stevens,  William,  Merchant,  Whitehallville,  Bucks 
Co.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

101.  Stokes,  Samuel  E.,  Merchant,  39  Arch  St.,  Phila- 
delphia. 

102.  Taylor,  Caleb  N.,  Farmer,  Newportville,  Bucks  Co. 
Suffering  from  what  Judge  Grier  called  "  Epidemic  of  deaf- 
ness."    Excused. 

103.  Toland,    George    W.,    Gentleman,    178    Arch    St., 
Philadelphia,  of  notable  family  of  bankers. 

104.  Trexler,  Lesher,  Gentleman,  Allentown,  Lehigh  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

105.  Wainwright,    Jonathan,    Merchant,    Beach,    below 
Hanover  St.,  Philadelphia.     Stood  aside.     Subsequently  re- 
called and  accepted  (10). 

106.  Walsh,  Eobert  F.,  Merchant,  5  Girard  St.,  Phila- 
delphia.   "  Thought  the  offense  treason."    Challenged  by  the 
Court. 

107.  Watmough,     John    G.,     Gentleman,     Germantown, 
Philadelphia  County.     "Strongly  against  the  whole  busi- 
ness."    Challenged  by  U.  S. 

108.  Watson,  William,  Farmer,  Mechanicsville,  Bucks  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

109.  West,    David,    Farmer,    Kimberton,    Chester    Co. 
Stood  aside. 

110.  White,  Thomas,  H.,  Gentleman,  1ST.  W.  Cor.  Ninth  & 
Spruce  Sts.,  Philadelphia.     Challenged  for  opinion  by  U.  S. 


"THE  TREASON  TRIALS."  73 

111.  Whitehill,  James,  Gentleman,  Lancaster  City.    Chal- 
lenged by  prisoner. 

112.  Witman,  Andrew  K,  Farmer,  Center  Valley  P.  O., 
Lehigh  Co.     From  neighborhood  of  Fries  rebellion.     Chal- 
lenged by  U.  S.  for  opinion,  after  long  discussion. 

113.  Williamson,    William,    Gentleman,    West    Chester, 
Chester  Co.     Challenged  by  prisoner. 

114.  *  Wilson,  James,  Gentleman,  Fairfield  P.  O.,  Adams 
Co.     Accepted    and    sworn    (3).     From    neighborhood    of 
Stevens'  iron  works.     Had  been  in  18th,  19th  and  20th  Con- 
gresses. 

115.  Vanzant,  Franklin,  Farmer,  Attleboro  P.  O.,  Bucks 
Co.     Two  children  sick.     Excused  temporarily. 

116.  Yohe,  Samuel,  Gentleman,  Easton,  Northampton  Co. 
Stood  aside. 

A*  finally  selected  the  trial  jury  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing persons : 

1.  ROBERT  ELLIOTT,  farmer,  Ickesburg,  Perry  County, 
aged  69 ;  weight  190  pounds. 

2.  JAMES  WILSON,  gentleman,  Fairfield  postoffice,  Adams 
County,  aged  73 ;  weight  186  pounds. 

3.  THOMAS  CONNELLY,  carpenter,  Beaver  Meadow,  Car- 
bon County,  aged  54 ;  weight  140  pounds. 

4.  PETER  MARTIN,  surveyor,  Ephrata  postoffice,  Lancaster 
County,  aged  46 ;  weight  250  pounds. 

5.  ROBERT  SMITH,  gentleman,  Gettysburg,  Adams  County, 
aged  57 ;  weight  183  pounds. 

6.  WILLIAM  R.  SADDLER,  farmer,  York  Sulphur  Springs 
postoffice,  Adams  County,  aged  41 ;  weight  148  pounds. 

7.  JAMES  M.  HOPKINS,  farmer,  Buck  postoffice,  Drumore 
Township,  Lancaster  County,  aged  50 ;  weight  191  pounds. 

8.  JOHN   JUNKIN,    farmer,    Landisburg,    Perry    County, 
aged  56 ;  weight  161  pounds. 

9.  SOLOMON    NEWMAN,    smith,    Milford,    Pike    County, 
aged  48 ;  weight  156  pounds. 


74  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

10.  JONATHAN    WAINWRIGHT,    Merchant,    Philadelphia, 
aged  66 ;  weight  200  pounds. 

11.  EPHRAIM  FENTON,  farmer,  Upper  Dublin  postoffice, 
Montgomery  County,  aged  52 ;  weight  200  pounds. 

12.  JAMES    COWDEN,    merchant,    Columbia,    Lancaster 
County,  aged  36 ;  weight  135  pounds. 

Average  age  of  jurors:  53.     Average  weight:  178  pounds. 

In  opening  for  the  prosecution  District  Attorney  Ashmead 
defined  the  act  of  treason,  as  it  had  been  laid  down  in  pre- 
vious judicial  deliverances,  and  he  relied  on  the  proof  that 
there  had  been  an  armed  and  organized  resistance  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  laws  of  Congress,  in  which  the  prisoner  not 
only  participated,  but  of  which  he  was  a  leader.  After  he 
had  concluded,  Z.  Collins  Lee,  of  Baltimore,  United  States 
District  Attorney,  appeared  also  for  the  prosecution.  Wit- 
nesses were  excluded  while  other  witnesses  were  testifying. 
Mr.  G.  L.  Ashmead,  who  was  a  cousin  of  the  United  States 
Attorney,  conducted  the  examination  of  the  witnesses.  The 
scene  was  located;  Deputy  Kline  told  his  story  in  detail, 
substantially  as  the  incident  has  been  related;  he  insisted 
that  he  asked  Hanway  and  Lewis  to  aid  him  in  enforcing 
his  writs  and  they  refused ;  Hanway  sat  on  his  horse  during 
the  affray  and  Joshua  Gorsuch,  pretty  badly  hurt,  got  be- 
hind the  horse  for  protection.  Kline  was  the  special  target 
of  severe  and  sarcastic  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Stevens,  as 
he  was  the  Atlas  of  the  Government's  case.  To  break  him 
down  on  the  identity  of  those  who  were  present  at  the  riot, 
Mr.  Stevens  insisted  on  the  Court  allowing  the  presence  in 
Court  of  all  the  prisoners;  and  when  he  accomplished  this 
dramatic  purpose  he  turned  Kline  over  to  Mr.  Lewis  for 
further  and  protracted  cross-examination  on  the  skirmishing 
movements  of  the  arresting  party  before  the  riot.  Mr.  Kead 
also  took  a  hand  in  his  cross-examination,  which  was  not 
concluded  until  the  Saturday  of  the  first  week.  His  last 
answer  at  this  session  was  to  the  effect  that  he  did  not  see 
Joseph  Scarlet  at  the  "  action." 


75 


Dr.  Pearce  testified  at  some  length  corroborating  Kline; 
and  averring  very  distinctly  that  he  saw  a  shot  fired  from 
the  window  of  the  house  at  Gorsuch,  the  elder.  He  was 
severely  cross-examined  by  Mr.  Stevens,  who  intimated 
repeatedly  that  the  witness  had  charged  Kline  with  cowardice. 
Dickinson  Gorsuch  followed  him  and  testified  to  the  main 
facts.  Neither  he  nor  his  cousin,  Joshua,  was  subjected  to 
any  cross-examination;  and  both  of  them  were  less  direct 
in  their  accusations  against  Hanway  and  Lewis  than  Kline, 
at  the  most  declaring  that  Hanway's  arrival  seemed  to  give 
the  colored  men  inspiration  and  encouragement.  The  son  es- 
tablished his  father's  determination  not  to  be  driven  or  in- 
timidated from  the  premises,  and  described  the  killing  of 
him  and  the  wounding  of  himself.  These  circumstances, 
creditable  to  the  valor  of  the  Gorsuches,  did  not  materially 
prejudice  the  case  of  the  defendant  on  the  trial.  Dickinson 
recognized  Scarlet  as  one  who  at  first  refused  to  help  him,  but 
subsequently  got  him  water.  Nicholas  Hutchins  was  also 
examined  as  to  the  affray  and  corroborated  the  other  wit- 
nesses; likewise  Nathan  Nelson,  the  other  of  the  Maryland 
party.  These  witnesses  were  positive  in  their  recognition  of 
Noah  Buley  and  Joshua  Hammond,  the  elder  two  of  the 
runaways. 

The  first  week  of  the  trial  closed  with  Miller  Knott  on  the 
stand.  He  was  a  citizen  of  the  neighborhood,  who  was  not 
charged  with  any  complicity,  but  who  had  given  aid  to  the 
wounded.  He  had  seen  a  man  on  horseback,  in  his  shirt 
sleeves  —  presumably  Hanway  —  riding  northward,  with  a 
band  of  negroes  following  him ;  and  a  half  score  or  more  at- 
tacking Dickinson  Gorsuch,  while  others  followed  Isaiah 
Clarkson  into  the  corn  field.  He  saw  Gorsuch  the  father 
lying  alone  not  yet  dead ;  and  Joseph  Scarlet,  on  horseback,  at 
"  the  mouth  of  the  long  lane  " ;  he  subsequently  returned  with 
the  colored  men  toward  Parker's  house.  From  this  witness 
it  appeared  that  it  was  a  mile  from  Hanway's  mill  to  Parker's 


76  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

house,  that  Joseph  Scarlet  would  have  to  travel  two  miles 
and  his  horse  was  "sweaty,"  that  Elijah  Lewis  lived  from 
a  mile  and  a  half  to  two  miles  away.  Mr.  Knott  was  not 
subjected  to  cross-examination.  His  son,  John,  had  preceded 
him  to  Parker's  by  ten  minutes  and  saw  the  riot  from  a  point 
about  thirty  yards  from  the  junction  of  the  long  lane  and  the 
house  lane.  He  saw  from  fifty  to  sixty  negroes  come  out  from 
the  house,  shouting  and  shooting,  disperse  up  the  little  lane 
and  run  toward  the  creek.  He  saw  horses  hitched  on  the  fence 
in  the  long  lane ;  he  saw  Dickinson  Gorsuch  bleeding  and  gave 
him  water.  Again  the  defense  desisted  from  cross-examina- 
tion of  either  of  the  Knotts.  Alderman  Reigart  testified  to 
an  exciting  conversation  between  Kline  and  Hanway  and 
Lewis  at  Christiana,  after  their  arrest,  when  Kline  had 
denounced  them  savagely  and  they  disclaimed  having  incited 
the  negroes.  It  was  manifest  the  defendants  would  centre 
their  attack  upon  Kline  and  Mr.  Read  brought  out  the  fact 
that  while  he  wore  formidable  whiskers  and  mustaches  at  the 
time  of  the  affray,  he  had  since  shaved  them  off.  It  was 
shown  that  though  he  publicly  denounced  the  prisoners 
as  "white  livered  scoundrels"  who  had  ordered  the  blacks 
to  fire,  his  statements  under  oath  were  very  much  milder. 

A  long  discussion  ensued  over  the  admission  of  Charles 
Smith's  evidence,  but  he  was  finally  permitted  to  testify 
that  Samuel  Williams  —  the  colored  man  from  Philadelphia 
who  had  trailed  Kline  —  had  brought  and  circulated  news 
of  the  intended  raid  for  the  arrest  of  the  Gorsuch  runaways. 
It  was  disclosed  by  Dr.  Cain's  testimony  that  Washington 
and  Clark,  colored  witnesses  who  had  escaped  from  Moyamen- 
sing,  had  been  circulating  a  paper  on  September  10th,  which 
had  the  character  of  a  warning  to  the  Maryland  refugees. 
Shortly  after  the  affray  Dr.  Cain,  at  his  own  tenant  house, 
treated  two  colored  men,  Henry  C.  Hopkins  and  John  Long, 
who  had  been  shot,  one  in  the  arm  and  one  in  the  thigh. 


"THE  TREASON  TRIALS."  77 

Hopkins  was  the  doctor's  tenant.  John  Roberts,  a  colored 
witness,  who  had  been  detained  as  such,  for  more  than  ten 
weeks,  in  Mojamensing,  proved  that  Joseph  Scarlet  told 
him  "  about  sun  up  "  that  kidnappers  were  at  Parker's,  and 
witness  got  a  loaded  gun  from  Jacob  Townsend  and  went 
to  the  scene.  Other  witnesses  of  the  same  kind,  and  detained 
the  same  way,  elicited  little  material  matter,  as  they  arrived 
on  the  scene  after  the  battle.  In  support  of  the  Government's 
theory  of  a  treasonable  conspiracy,  some  evidence  was  intro- 
duced of  meetings  at  West  Chester  in  opposition  to  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law,  but  the  participation  of  the  accused  was  not 
shown. 

The  scenes  attending  the  trial  are  described  by  the  news- 
papers of  the  day  as  highly  interesting  and  sometimes  sensa- 
tional. Popular  interest  grew  as  it  progressed  and  it 
centered  upon  the  prisoner,  who  was  a  stranger  in  Philadel- 
phia. One  newspaper  account  describes  Hanway  as  dis- 
playing the  greatest  self-possession  during  the  selection  of 
jurors.  "He  is  apparently  about  35  years  of  age,  tall  but 
spare  in  form,  and  inclined  to  stoop  a  little.  There  is  a 
becoming  seriousness  in  his  countenance,  but  nothing  like 
alarm  or  trepidation  is  visible.  When  called  upon  to  look 
at  the  juror  summoned  to  try  him,  he  does  so  with  a  firm 
and  inquiring  look,  but  never  determines  upon  his  admission 
or  rejection  until  he  has  consulted  his  counsel,  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  who  sits  immediately  by  his  side." 

Before  the  defense  was  formally  opened  its  course  and 
character  had  been  anticipated  by  the  cross-examination  of 
Mr.  Stevens;  in  this  quality  of  a  trial  lawyer  he  was  an 
acknowledged  master.  The  opening  speech  of  Mr.  Cuyler 
referred  to  the  division  among  the  counsel  for  the  prosecu- 
tion; it  praised  the  fairness  of  Mr.  Ashmead,  who,  it  de- 
clared, had  been  remanded  to  the  background,  because  Mary- 
land distrusted  the  justice  of  Pennsylvania.  This  was  an 
effective  appeal  to  the  State  pride  of  the  jury.  He  vigorously 


78  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

assailed  Kline,  who  had  been  the  Government's  most  zealous 
witness.  He  traced  the  course  of  Pennsylvania's  legisla- 
tion on  slavery  and  insisted  that  this  Commonwealth  was 
"ever  true  to  her  plighted  constitutional  good  faith";  he 
extolled  Hanway's  civic  virtues,  and  dwelt  with  emphasis 
upon  the  local  agitation  over  the  "lawless  and  diabolical 
outrages"  of  the  kidnappers;  and  finally  ridiculed  the  idea 
of  treason  in  the  allegation  that  "  three  harmless,  non-resist- 
ing Quakers,  and  eight-and-thirty  wretched,  miserable,  pen- 
niless negroes,  armed  with  corn-cutters,  clubs,  and  a  few 
muskets,  and  headed  by  a  miller,  in  a  felt  hat,  without  a 
coat,  without  arms,  and  mounted  on  a  sorrel  nag,  levied 
war  against  the  United  States." 

When  Mr.  Stevens  began  the  production  of  testimony  for 
the  defense  with  offers  to  prove  the  recent  kidnapping  out- 
rages in  the  neighborhood  of  Gap,  the  legal  storm  center  of 
the  trial  was  at  hand.  The  prosecution  saw  and  feared  the 
influence  of  this  line  of  evidence  as  keenly  as  the  defense 
recognized  its  force  and  value.  Judges  Grier  and  Kane  both 
discerned  the  vital  issue  at  once  and  long  before  the  argument 
concluded,  pointed  out  that  as  the  accusation  was  treason — 
a  position  founded  upon  some  previous  conspiracy — the  de- 
fense must  be  allowed  the  same  latitude  to  disprove  intent 
as  had  been  allowed  to  the  prosecution  to  establish  it.  This 
opened  the  way  for  Thomas  Pennington  to  tell  the  story 
of  what  had  occurred  at  the  home  of  his  son-in-law,  William 
Marsh  Chamberlain,  the  preceding  January —  it  was  the 
same  night,  by  the  way,  that  "  James  Kay  fell  dead  as  he  en- 
tered the  door  of  his  own  house."  As  has  been  heretofore  re- 
lated, in  the  absence  at  Ray's  of  the  head  of  the  Chamberlain 
household,  the  black  man  in  its  employ  was  beaten  and  dragged 
out  and  carried  off  by  intruders  without  legal  process  and 
led  by  local  abettors  of  the  capture. 

The  fact  that  it  was  not  shown  the  man  taken  was  a  free 
man,  or  that  he  may  have  been  reclaimed  by  the  authority  of 


79 

his  owner,  made  little  difference  in  the  popular  feeling  about 
the  affair  or  in  the  effectiveness  of  the  incident  for  trial 
purposes.  If  such  ruthlessness  might  be  technically  legal 
it  made  the  slave  law  none  the  less  odious ! 

Henry  Ray  went  further  than  Pennington  and  identi- 
fied both  Perry  Marsh  and  William  Bear  as  associates  of 
the  band  who  carried  off  Chamberlain's  man ;  and  Mrs.  Cham- 
berlain—  who  saw  the  incident  through  a  pipe  hole  from 
upstairs,  where  the  affrighted  family  had  retreated  —  and 
her  brother,  Miller  Pennington,  described  it  in  a  manner 
that  heightened  its  effect.  With  this  recital  the  defense  made 
a  distinct  advance. 

When  the  next  witness,  Elijah  Lewis,  was  called,  a  ques- 
tion was  raised  as  to  his  competency.  Although  not  himself 
on  trial,  he  was  under  indictment  for  the  same  offense  as 
the  prisoner.  Mr.  Brent  cited  "5th  Espinasse,"  but  the 
Government's  objection  was  not  urged  with  much  confidence 
and  was  not  sustained  by  the  Court.  Interest  centered  in 
the  witness  as  he  was  probably  the  most  conspicuous  of  all 
the  defendants  and  a  recognized  leader  of  local  sentiment. 
He  supported  the  case  of  the  defendants  as  their  counsel  had 
outlined  it;  and  his  intelligence,  direct  manner  and  forceful 
expression  gave  added  weight  to  his  testimony.  Isaiah 
Clarkson  had  summoned  him  to  the  scene  by  the  report  that 
Parker's  house  was  surrounded  and  had  been  broken  into 
by  kidnappers;  he  started  on  foot  and  called  Hanway,  who 
was  not  very  well  and  got  his  horse;  Kline  showed  them  a 
paper  which  he  assumed  was  a  warrant ;  the  negroes  were  ex- 
cited and  Hanway  begged  them  not  to  shoot;  witness  had 
turned  south  toward  the  wood,  Kline  following  and  Hanway 
to  the  north  when  the  shooting  began.  He  contradicted  Kline's 
story  of  him  or  Hanway  expressing  defiance  of  the  law 
and  declared  Kline  was  "in  the  woods"  when  the  firing 
began;  he  and  Hanway  were  not  arrested;  they  gave  them- 
selves up.  Cross-examination  strengthened  his  statement. 


80  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

Other  witnesses  testified  to  Kline's  declarations  after  the 
event  to  the  effect  that  he  had  wanted  to  withdraw,  but  was 
overruled;  that  Dr.  Pearce  admitted  the  Gorsuches  were 
rash  and  Kline  timid,  and  that  he  himself  owed  his  life  to 
Hanway's  protection. 

The  defense  then  opened  its  batteries  against  Kline's  repu- 
tation. Hon.  William  D.  Kelly  —  later  a  Common  Pleas 
Judge  and  long  time  a  leading  member  of  Congress  from 
Philadelphia  —  headed  a  long  list  of  witnesses  who  testified 
that  Kline's  reputation  was  bad  and  that  he  was  unworthy 
of  belief.  There  were  nearly  a  score  in  all  and  many  of 
them  were  most  emphatic;  it  was  also  shown  that  in  some 
accounts  of  the  affray  Kline  had  denounced  "the  damned 
Quaker  abolitionists." 

To  open  the  way  for  the  recanting  witness,  Harvey  Scott, 
to  recall  his  former  stories  and  repudiate  their  statements, 
witnesses  were  called  to  testify  that  he  was  not  at  the  riot  at 
all,  but  was  "  buttoned  up  "  in  John  Carr's  garret  until  day- 
light and  from  that  time  on  was  at  the  place,  blowing  and 
striking  in  his  employer's  blacksmith  shop;  that  when  he 
heard  of  the  affair  he  congratulated  himself  with  the  remark, 
"  I'm  a  nigger  out  of  that  scrape." 

Lewis  Cooper,  who  was  a  son-in-law  of  Elijah  Lewis,  had, 
with  Joseph  Scarlet's  assistance,  taken  Dickinson  Gorsuch 
to  the  Pownall  house;  he  had  heard  Dr.  Pearce  tell  of  his 
uncle's  rashness  and  that  one  of  his  own  slaves,  "a  bright 
yellow  negro,"  shot  him ;  and  also  that  he  had  been  saved  by 
holding  on  to  Hanway's  saddle  skirt. 

Many  witnesses  were  called  to  prove  Hanway's  character 
"  as  a  peaceable,  good,  loyal  and  orderly  citizen."  It  was 
brought  out  that  Hanway,  contrary  to  the  general  popular 
impression,  was  not  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
Having  been  born  in  Delaware  and  lived  in  Chester  as  well 
as  Lancaster  County,  and  having  been  at  one  time  absent 
from  the  State,  the  witnesses  in  his  behalf  represented  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  countrv. 


81 

The  rebuttal  on  the  part  of  the  prosecution  consisted  largely 
of  an  attempt  to  rehabilitate  Kline's  reputation;  a  great 
number  of  respectable  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  who  had 
known  him  from  his  youth  up,  were  called  to  testify  that 
his  character  was  good  and  that  he  was  entitled  to  belief. 
The  opening  in  rebuttal  also  covered  proposed  proof  of  al- 
leged outrages  and  reprisals  by  the  sympathizers  with  fugi- 
tive slaves,  in  that  armed  and  organized  bands  of  negroes 
paraded  the  streets  of  Lancaster  "  on  the  hunt  for  slave  hun- 
ters and  avowing  the  determination,  if  they  caught  them, 
they  would  kill  them";  that  in  April,  1851,  Samuel  Worth- 
ington,  of  Maryland,  went  into  the  neighborhood  of  Chris- 
tiana to  reclaim  his  fugitive  slave  and  was  resisted  by  armed 
force;  that  bells  were  rung  and  horns  blown  to  arouse  the 
neighborhood  and  the  master  was  obliged  to  flee  for  his  life. 
It  was  also  promised  that  Harvey  Scott  would  corroborate  his 
former  statement  and  disprove  the  alibi  that  had  been  made 
out  for  him.  In  the  number  of  witnesses  who  were  called  to 
prove  the  general  character  of  Kline  for  truth  and  veracity, 
the  Government  far  exceeded  his  assailants.  The  proposed 
testimony  as  to  previous  occurrences  in  the  neighborhood, 
showing  popular  feeling  against  the  resistance  to  the  reclaim- 
ing of  fugitive  slaves,  was  ruled  out  by  the  Court ;  the  trial 
judges  concurred  that  if  it  was  any  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment's case  it  should  have  been  offered  originally,  and  Judge 
Grier  jocularly  observed,  "We  may  draw  a  figure  from  the 
game  of  whist  —  it  would  be  renigging  and  keeping  your 
trump  back  to  the  last  trick." 

When  the  recanting  witness,  Harvey  Scott,  was  called 
by  the  Government  to  prove  that  the  alibi  made  for  him  was 
not  correct,  and  Mr.  Ashmead  confidently  offered  him  to 
prove  that  he  was  at  the  riot,  Scott  startled  the  prosecution 
and  satisfied  the  defense  by  testifying  as  follows :  "  I  gave 
my  evidence  that  I  was  there  once.  I  was  frightened  at 
the  time  I  was  taken  up,  and  I  said  I  was  there,  but  I  was 
6 


82  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

not;  I  was  proved  to  be  there,  but  I  was  not  there;  they 
took  me  to  Christiana,  and  I  was  frightened,  and  I  didn't 
know  what  to  say,  and  I  said  what  they  told  me."  He  re- 
peated this,  whereupon  Mr.  Ashmead  declared  that  he  had 
been  entrapped  and  asked  that  Scott  might  be  committed  to 
take  his  trial  for  perjury,  when  the  following  colloquy  oc- 
curred : 

"  JUDGE  GRIER.  Poor  devil,  it  is  not  worth  while  for  the 
United  States  to  do  it.  Let  him  go,  and  if  you  owe  him 
any  thing,  pay  him,  that  he  may  not  be  tempted  to  steal. 

"  MR.  STEVENS.  The  truth  is,  that  he  is  not  right  in  his 
mind. 

"  MR.  J.  W.  ASHMEAD.  With  that  explanation  I  am  per- 
fectly willing  he  should  depart." 

At  the  resumption  of  the  trial  on  the  next  day  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  discussion  as  to  what  should  be  done  about  the 
variation  in  the  testimony  of  the  witness  Scott.  The  Gov- 
ernment had  manifestly  suffered  from  his  wobbling,  and 
intimated  that  he  had  been  tampered  with;  all  of  which 
was  resented  by  the  defense,  who  declared  that  he  was  only 
a  "poor  miserable  negro,"  shallow-minded  and  uncertain, 
and  that  the  United  States  having  fed  and  clothed  him  for 
the  purpose  of  the  trial,  no  one  representing  the  defense  had 
had  any  access  to  him  and  the  whole  effect  of  his  testimony 
was  a  matter  for  the  jury.  After  again  calling  Dickinson 
Gorsuch  to  prove  that  two  of  his  father's  slaves  —  Noah 
Buley  and  Joshua  Hammond  —  were  present  at  the  shoot- 
ing, the  testimony  closed,  and  it  was  agreed  there  should  be 
not  more  than  three  speeches  on  either  side. 

The  summing  up  began  on  Friday,  December  5,  Mr.  Lud- 
low  opening  for  the  prosecution  and  discussing  at  length  and 
elaborately  the  law  of  the  case,  and  then  proceeding  to  con- 
sider the  strength  of  the  Government's  testimony  and  the 
improbabilities  of  what  had  been  proved  on  the  part  of  the 
defense.  Being  himself  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar, 


83 

he  undertook  the  defense  of  Kline,  and  declared  that  no 
man  of  bad  character  could  have  produced  in  his  behalf  the 
array  of  witnesses  whom  the  Government  had  called  to  sus- 
tain its  deputy  marshal.  On  Saturday  morning,  December 
6,  Mr.  Lewis,  of  West  Chester,  commenced  to  sum  up  for 
the  defense.  He  made  an  exceptionally  able  argument  both 
on  the  facts  and  the  law  of  the  case  and  reviewed  the  history 
of  the  two  leading  cases  of  treason  which  had  occurred  in 
Pennsylvania  arising  out  of  the  so-called  Whiskey  Insur- 
rection and  the  Fries  rebellion.  He  was  followed  by  Attorney 
General  Brent,  for  the  prosecution,  and  his  speech  was  not 
concluded  when  Court  adjourned  on  Saturday  afternoon  to 
meet  the  following  Monday.  It  was  at  this  session  of  the 
Court  the  colored  prisoners  were  brought  in  clad  in  the  uni- 
form dress  which  had  been  furnished  them  by  sympathizing 
friends,  and  the  scene  that  was  presented  is  thus  described 
by  a  contemporary  newspaper  reporter: 

"  On  Saturday  morning,  December  6,  when  Mr.  Lewis  was 
to  speak  first  for  the  prisoners  and  was  to  be  followed  by  the 
Attorney  General  of  Maryland  there  was  a  great  throng  pres- 
ent at  the  trial.  The  room  was  overcrowded  with  women,  and 
Marshal  Eoberts  was  greatly  embarrassed  at  his  inability 
to  find  or  to  make  a  place  for  them.  The  special  attention 
of  the  specators  was  attracted  to  a  row  of  colored  men,  seated 
on  the  north  side  of  the  room.  They  were  cleanly  in  their 
appearance,  and  their  heads  and  faces  presented  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence  that  they  had  just  escaped  from  the  hands 
of  the  barber.  These  were  the  colored  prisoners  alleged  to 
have  been  engaged  in  the  treason  at  Christiana,  and  numbered 
twenty-four.  They  were  all  similarly  attired  wearing  around 
their  necks  '  red,  white  and  blue  scarfs/  Lucretia  Mott1  was 

1Mrs.  Lucretia  Mott,  native  of  Nantucket,  Mass. — where  her  portrait 
is  proudly  exhibited — and  long  resident  of  Philadelphia,  was  one  of  the 
very  remarkable  women  of  her  period.  Mrs.  Eebecca  Harding  Davis, 
herself  the  wife  of  the  late  L.  Clarke  Davis  and  mother  of  Eichard 
Harding  Davis,  was  a  Southern  woman  with  pro-slavery  sympathies.  In 


84  THE     CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

at  their  head.  This,  we  believe,  is  her  first  appearance  in 
court  since  the  trials  have  commenced.  Her  dignified  and 
benevolent  countenance  ever  attracts  attention.  Under  that 
calm  exterior  there  glows  a  fire,  kindled  by  charity,  which 
is  as  universal  as  it  is  ardent  and  enduring.  She  sat  knitting 
during  the  entire  session  of  the  court,  apparently  unconscious 
of  what  was  going  on  around  her,  except  when  some  point 
in  the  testimony  seemed  to  bear  strongly  against  the  prisoner. 
Then  her  eyes  were  lifted  from  her  work,  and  sparkled  for 
a  moment  with  admiration ;  but  speedily  relapsed  into  their 
intelligent,  yet  quiet  and  peaceful  aspect.  One  of  the  colored 
persons,  whose  name  is  Collister  Wilson,  was  too  unwell  to 
be  brought  from  prison  on  Saturday  morning.  It  is  but  just 
to  say,  that  these  colored  men,  taken  together,  will  compare 
in  personal  appearance  with  an  equal  number  of  the  same 

her  "Bits  of  Gossip"  (1904),  she  made  a  pen  picture  of  Mrs.  Mott, 
whom  she  describes  as  a  rare  combination  of  intellectual  gifts  and 
domestic  accomplishments.  She  says:  "No  man  in  the  Abolition  party 
had  a  more  vigorous  brain  or  ready  eloquence  than  this  famous  Quaker 
preacher,  but  much  of  her  power  came  from  the  fact  that  she  was  one 
of  the  most  womanly  of  women.  She  had  pity  and  tenderness  enough 
in  her  heart  for  the  mother  of  mankind,  and  that  keen  sense  of  humor 
without  which  the  tenderest  of  women  is  but  a  dull  clod.  Even  in  ex- 
treme old  age  she  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  I  ever  have 
seen.  She  was  a  little,  vivid,  delicate  creature,  alive  with  magnetic 
power.  It  is  many  years  since  that  charming  face  with  its  wonderful 
luminous  eyes  was  given  back  to  the  earth,  but  it  is  as  real  to  me  this 
moment  as  ever."  She  "looked  like  a  saint,"  but  "until  the  day  of 
her  death  kept  up  the  homely  domestic  habits  of  her  youth.  She  might 
face  a  mob  at  night  that  threatened  her  life,  or  lecture  to  thousands  of 
applauding  disciples,  but  she  never  forgot  in  the  morning  to  shell  the 
peas  for  dinner.  Her  fingers  never  were  quiet.  She  knitted  wonderful 
bedspreads  and  made  gay  rag-carpets  as  wedding  gifts  for  all  of  her 
granddaughters.  She  had,  oddly  enough,  the  personal  charm,  the  tem- 
perament, the  hospitable  soul  of  a  Southern  woman.  I  used  wickedly  to 
wish  that  she  had  been  born  on  the  other  side.  How  she  would  have 
glorified  her  duty  as  a  slaveholder  and  magnified  her  office!  And  how 
they  would  have  appreciated  her  beauty  and  charm  down  there ! ' ' 

Manifestly  Lucretia  Mott  was  not  to  be  fairly  classed  with  Justice 
Grier's  "female  vagrant  lecturers,"  "whose  moral  atmosphere  had  been 
tainted  and  poisoned. ' ' 


85 

race  taken  indiscriminately  from  any  part  of  the  world. 
The  two  white  men,  Lewis  and  Scarlet,  were  also  brought 
from  prison,  but  occupied  the  rear  or  east  end  of  the  court 
room.  These  two  appeared  to  be  between  thirty  and  forty 
years  of  age,  and  judging  from  their  garb,  do  not  belong  to  the 
Society  of  Friends,  as  has  been  generally  supposed.  On  in- 
quiring how  it  happened  that  the  colored  prisoners  were  all 
dressed  alike,  we  were  informed  that  they  had  been  clothed 
by  a  committee  of  ladies  belonging  to  the  Abolition  Society, 
who  have  been  very  attentive  to  them  since  they  have  been 
in  prison." 

Subsequent  reports  of  the  trial  indicate  increased  atten- 
dance, especially  of  "  ladies  dressed  in  Quaker  garb." 

Continuing  his  speech  on  the  following  Monday  the 
Attorney  General  waxed  eloquent  over  the  glories  of  the 
Union  and  the  perils  to  national  peace  that  lay  in  resistance 
to  law  and  in  the  refusal  of  any  one  section  to  accord  to  an- 
other its  legal  rights.  He  read  from  Webster's  speeches  and 
Washington's  farewell  address  and  from  Judge  Iredell's 
charge  on  the  trial  of  the  Fries  cases.  He  referred  to  the 
presence  in  Court  by  Hanway's  side  of  his  devoted  and  af- 
fectionate wife,  who  it  seems  had  sat  with  him  during  the 
trial.  While  the  gallantry  of  the  Maryland  lawyer  constrained 
him  to  express  his  admiration  and  respect  for  "the  afflicted 
lady  of  this  prisoner,"  he  warned  the  jury  against  being  con- 
trolled by  "  the  spell  of  that  female  influence  which  is  more 
potent  than  the  eloquence  of  counsel,"  and  contrasted  the 
situation  of  Mrs.  Hanway  with  that  of  Gorsuch's  wife  "  who, 
as  a  widow,  is  now  mourning  the  loss  and  lover  of  her  youth 
and  the  prop  of  her  declining  years."  He  played  upon  the 
color  of  Scarlet's  name;  he  denounced  the  coroner's  inquest, 
lauded  the  chivalrous  courage  of  Edward  Gorsuch,  pictured 
with  skillful  hands  the  combat  at  the  Parker  house  and  the 
"diabolical  malice"  of  those  who  mangled  the  victim  of 
that  occasion  after  they  had  killed  him.  He  insisted  that 


00  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

both  Lewis  and  Hanway  had  been  guilty  of  treason  and  that 
they  had  incited  the  blacks  to  make  armed  resistance  to  the 
law  of  the  land. 

To  Mr.  Read  was  assigned  the  responsible  duty  of  reply- 
ing immediately  to  Brent,  which  he  did  in  a  speech  occupying 
nearly  three  days  in  the  delivery  and,  as  the  reporter  ob- 
serves, "marked  throughout  by  eloquence  and  profound 
learning,  being  a  thorough  and  complete  dissertation  on  the 
law  of  treason,  and  which  riveted  the  attention  not  only  of 
the  Court  and  jury,  but  of  a  crowded  auditory." 

It  was  expected  that  Thaddeus  Stevens  would  follow  him, 
and  the  public  interest  which  attached  to  his  speaking  was 
probably  greater  than  that  attending  any  of  the  other  counsel ; 
but  for  some  reason  he  declined  speaking  in  the  cause,  and 
Mr.  Read  was  followed  by  Senator  Cooper,  who  represented 
not  only  the  State  of  Maryland,  but  the  Gorsuch  family.  He 
expounded  with  the  ability  of  a  profound  lawyer  the  constitu- 
tional definition  of  treason  and  applied  it  to  the  facts  of  the 
case,  which  he  insisted  fully,  amply  and  distinctly  proved  the 
overt  act  of  treason.  In  the  cases  of  contradiction  between 
Lewis  and  Kline  he  declared  that  Kline  was  supported  by 
the  testimony  of  all  the  Maryland  party,  while  Lewis  stood 
alone,  and  Lewis  was  an  interested  and  therefore  discredited 
witness.  His  peroration  was  an  earnest  plea  for  the  Union 
and  against  anything  that  would  affect  its  stability  or  en- 
danger its  peace.  In  Websterian  strain  he  closed  as  follows : 
"  The  eyes  of  the  world  are  upon  the  constellation  in  its  ban- 
ner. Its  stars  are  the  beacons  of  liberty.  Let  us  then,  for 
our  sakes,  and  for  the  sake  of  liberty  in  other  lands,  guard 
it  as  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  guarded  of  old.  Let  no 
hand  deface  it.  Let  the  day  never  come  when  it  shall  be 
rent  in  twain;  when  one  cluster  of  its  stars,  separated  from 
the  other  and  beaming  in  different  banners,  shall  be  borne 
over  adverse  and  conflicting  hosts ;  but  let  it  remain  as  it  now 
is,  'the  Flag  of  the  Union,'  still  waving  over  the  heads  of 


THADDEUS  STEVENS. 

!N  THE  DAYS  OF  HIS  CONGRESSIONAL  LEADERSI- 


"THE  TREASON  TRIALS."  87 

united  freemen,  obedient  to  the  same  laws  —  laws  supported 
by  all,  sustained  by  all,  vindicated  by  all,  in  every  section  of 
the  country." 

The  argument  of  the  case  closed  with  Senator  Cooper's 
speech  and  he  was  immediately  followed  by  Justice  Grier's 
charge  to  the  jury.  After  the  judge  had  made  a  general  ex- 
position of  the  law,  he  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  case  had  been  conducted  on  both  sides  by  counsel. 
He  framed  the  issues  to  be  determined  by  the  jury  as  two- 
fold, involving  first  the  question  as  to  whether  Hanway  par- 
ticipated in  the  offenses  proved  to  have  been  committed,  and, 
secondly,  if  he  did  so,  was  his  offence  treason  ?  In  under- 
taking to  vindicate  the  reputation  of  the  people  of  Pennsyl- 
vania he  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  own  individual  views  upon 
the  subject  of  the  anti-slavery  agitation  then  prevailing,  and 
the  following  extracts  from  his  charge,  which  were  savagely 
resented  at  the  time  of  their  utterance  even  by  those  who 
were  satisfied  with  his  legal  conclusion,  are  reported  to  have 
been  uttered  in  a  shrill  and  piping  voice,  which  added  to  the 
intensity  of  their  expression : 

"  With  the  exception  of  a  few  individuals  of  perverted  in- 
tellect, some  small  districts  or  neighborhoods  whose  moral 
atmosphere  has  been  tainted  and  poisoned,  by  male  and  fe- 
male vagrant  lecturers  and  conventions,  no  party  in  politics, 
f  no  sect  of  religion,  nor  any  respectable  numbers  or  character 
can  be  found  within  our  borders  who  have  viewed  with  ap- 
probation or  looked  with  any  other  than  feelings  of  abhorrence 
upon  this  disgraceful  tragedy. 

"  It  is  not  in  this  Hall  of  Independence,  that  meetings  of 
infuriated  fanatics  and  unprincipled  demagogues  have  been 
held  to  counsel  a  bloody  resistance  to  the  laws  of  the  land. 
It  is  not  in  this  city  that  conventions  are  held  denouncing 
the  Constitution,  the  laws,  and  the  Bible.  It  is  not  here 
that  the  pulpit  has  been  desecrated  by  seditious  exhortations, 
teaching  that  theft  is  meritorious,  murder  excusable  and 
treason  a  virtue. 


88  THE     CHEISTIANA    RIOT. 

"The  guilt  of  this  foul  murder  rests  not  alone  on  the 
deluded  individuals  who  were  its  immediate  perpetrators,  but 
the  blood  taints  with  even  deeper  dye  the  skirts  of  those  who 
promulgated  doctrines  subversive  of  all  morality  and  all 
government." 

He  practically  disposed,  however,  of  the  whole  case  and 
took  its  further  consideration  from  the  jury  by  his  announced 
legal  conclusion  that  the  offense  did  not  arise  to  that  of 
treason.  His  summing  up  on  this  branch  of  the  subject  prac- 
tically concluded  all  of  the  cases.  It  was  as  follows : 

"Without  desiring  to  invade  the  prerogatives  of  the  jury 
in  judging  the  facts  of  this  case,  the  Court  feel  bound  to  say, 
that  they  do  not  think  the  transaction  with  which  the  prisoner 
is  charged  with  being  connected,  rises  to  the  dignity  of 
treason  or  levying  war.  Not  because  the  numbers  or  force 
was  insufficient.  But  1st,  For  want  of  any  proof  of  previous 
conspiracy  to  make  a  general  and  public  resistance  to  any 
law  of  the  United  States.  2ndly,  Because  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  any  person  concerned  in  the  transaction  knew  there 
were  such  acts  of  Congressj  as  those  with  which  they  were 
charged  with  conspiring  to  resist  by  force  and  arms,  or  had 
any  other  intention  than  to  protect  one  another  from  what 
they  termed  kidnappers  (by  which  slang  term  they  probably 
included  not  only  actual  kidnappers,  but  all  masters  and 
owners  seeking  to  recapture  their  slaves,  and  the  officers  and 
agents  assisting  therein). 

"  The  testimony  of  the  prosecution  shows  that  notice  had 
been  given  that  certain  fugitives  were  pursued;  the  riot, 
insurrection,  tumult,  or  whatever  you  may  call  it,  was  but  a 
sudden  '  conclamatio '  or  running  together,  to  prevent  the 
capture  of  certain  of  their  friends  or  companions,  or  to  res- 
cue them  if  arrested.  Previous  to  this  transaction,  so  far 
as  we  are  informed,  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  arrest 
fugitives  in  the  neighborhood  under  the  new  act  of  Congress 
by  a  public  officer.  Heretofore  arrests  had  been  made  by 


"THE  TREASON  TEIALS."  89 

the  owner  in  person,  or  his  agent  properly  authorized,  or  by 
an  officer  of  the  law.  Individuals  without  any  authority,  but 
incited  by  cupidity,  and  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  reward 
offered  for  the  return  of  a  fugitive,  had  heretofore  under- 
taken to  seize  them  by  force  and  violence,  to  invade  the 
sanctity  of  private  dwellings  at  night,  and  insult  the  feelings 
and  prejudices  of  the  people.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  a  people  subject  to  such  inroads,  should  consider  odious 
the  perpetrators  of  such  deeds  and  denominate  them  kid- 
nappers—  and  that  the  subjects  of  this  treatment  should 
have  been  encouraged  in  resisting  such  aggressions,  where 
the  rightful  claimant  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the 
odious  kidnapper,  or  the  fact  be  ascertained  whether  the 
person  seized,  deported  or  stolen  in  this  manner,  was  a  free 
man  or  a  slave.  But  the  existence  of  such  feelings  is  no 
evidence  of  a  determination  or  conspiracy  by  the  people  to 
publicly  resist  any  legislation  of  Congress,  or  levy  war 
against  the  United  States.  That  in  consequence  of  such 
excitement,  such  an  outrage  should  have  been  committed,  is 
deeply  to  be  deplored.  |  That  the  persons  engaged  in£i$)  are 
guilty  of  aggravated  riot  and  murder  cannot  be-  denied.  But 
riot  and  murder  are  offences  against  the  State  Government. 
It  would  be  a  dangerous  precedent  for  the  Court  and  jury 
in  this  case  to  extend  the  crime  of  treason  by  construction  to 
doubtful  cases." 

Having  thus  practically  disposed  of  the  case  Mr.  Justice 
Grier  praised  the  U.  S.  Attorney  and  the  counsel  for 
Maryland  for  their  zeal  and  ability,  and  intimated  that  the 
duty  of  punishing  "  the  perpetrators  of  this  outrage  "  might 
be  transferred  to  the  courts  of  Lancaster  County,  where  the 
activity  and  zeal  of  its  law  officers  gave  assurance  that  their 
duty  would  be  performed  with  all  fidelity. 

After  the  Judge's  charge  the  jury  retired  to  deliberate  at 
the  American  House  where  they  were  lodged.  They  re- 


90  THE     CHRISTIANA    KIOT. 

turned  in  fifteen  minutes  and  rendered  a  verdict  of  "Not 
Guilty,"  which  announcement  was  received  by  the  large 
audience  present  "  in  a  becoming  manner  " ;  the  propriety  of 
their  conduct  is  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  the  Judge's  charge 
forecast  the  verdict. 

John  M.  Read  afterwards  said  some  of  the  jurymen  in- 
formed him  they  were  ready  to  acquit  before  the  defense 
opened. 

On  motion  of  District  Attorney  Ashmead,  and  in  con- 
sideration of  the  ordeal  through  which  Castner  Hanway  had 
just  passed,  four  other  bills  against  him  for  misdemeanor  were 
non  pressed  and  he  was  discharged  from  custody  and  from  all 
further  prosecution  in  the  Federal  Courts.  The  charge  of 
treason  against  Elijah  Lewis  was  withdrawn,  and  he  and 
Samuel  Williams  were  admitted  to  bail  in  $2,000  on  four 
other  indictments  pending  against  them.  Hanway  and  Lewis 
were  brought  to  Lancaster  on  Friday  afternoon,  December 
12th,  and  held  by  Associate  Judge  Vondersmith  in  $1,000 
bail  each,  "  to  answer  any  charge  that  might  be  brought 
against  them." 

There  was  a  later  proceeding  in  which  all  the  other  bills 
for  treason  were  non  prossed;  and  the  proposed  transfer  of 
the  prisoners  to  Lancaster  County  was  announced  by  the 
District  Attorney.  Mr.  Head  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  Court  the  subject  of  the  United  States  paying  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Hanway  witnesses ;  for  which  there  was  a  prece- 
dent in  Aaron  Burr's  case.  The  subject  was  fully  argued 
December  19th;  and  Judge  Kane  filed  an  opinion  refusing 
to  tax  these  costs  against  the  Government  and  dismissing 
Hanway's  petition. 

Subsequently  a  petition  to  Congress,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  copy,  was  circulated  and  signed  by  the  defendants,  but  it 
availed  nothing: 


"  THE    TREASON    TRIALS."  9 1 

"TO   THE   SENATE  AND   HOUSE   OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES: 
"The  Petition  of 

Citizens  of  the  State  of  Penna.,  respectfully  repre- 
sents; That  Whereas  in  the  month  of  September  1851  a  Riot  occurred  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  residence  of  your  petitioners,  generally  known  as  the 
'Christiana  Riot,'  and  your  petitioners  repairing  to  the  scene  of  dis- 
turbance without  any  evil  intentions,  but  to  prevent  violence,  were 
arrested  by  persons  acting  for  the  United  States,  and  charged  with  the 
highest  crimes  known  to  our  Laws,  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  they 
were  detained  many  months  and  subjected  to  great  expense  in  making 
preparations  to  meet  those  charges,  whereby  their  estates  were  wasted, 
their  minds  harassed  to  the  verge  of  insanity,  and  their  health  impaired, 
till  premature  decrepitude  is  the  consequence,  after  which  they  were 
discharged  without  a  hearing,  thereby  tacitly  admitting  the  charges  were 
groundless,  having  incurred  an  expense  of  many  thousand  dollars. 

"Your  petitioners  therefore  pray  you  the  honorable  representatives 
of  the  most  magnanimous  nation  of  the  earth,  to  grant  us  some  relief 
from  our  embarrassments,  and  we  will  ever  pray,  etc." 

Thus  ended  the  Treason  Trials  of  1851. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  LATER  TRIALS. 

Legal  Proceedings  in  Lancaster  County  —  Prisoners  Eemanded  to  Local 
Jurisdiction  —  President  Fillmore  's  Message  —  Attorney  General 
Brent 's  Eeport  —  Final  Disposition  of  the  Cases  in  the  Lancaster 
County  Court  — "Sam"  Williams  Tried  in  Philadelphia  and 
Acquitted. 

There  was,  however,  very  considerable  political  and  legal 
aftermath  to  the  proceedings  in  Philadelphia.  The  intima- 
tion of  so  eminent  an  authority  as  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  to  the  effect  that  some  official  duty 
devolved  upon  the  Lancaster  County  authorities  could  not  be 
ignored.  Accordingly  District  Attorney  John  L.  Thompson, 
who  was  in  his  day  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Lancaster  County 
Bar,  framed  bills  of  indictment  to  the  January  Sessions  1852 
against  many  of  those  who  had  been  arraigned  for  treason  in 
Philadelphia.  On  Wednesday,  December  31,  Marshal  Roberts 
brought  to  the  Lancaster  County  prison  from  Philadelphia 
the  following  persons:  Alson  Pernsley,  Lewis  Gales,  Lewis 
Clarkson,  Charles  Hunter,  Nelson  Carter,  Thomas  Butler, 
Henry  Green,  Collister  Wilson  and  George  Williams, — all 
these  were  on  the  same  evening  discharged  by  the  District 
Attorney,  as  he  deemed  the  evidence  insufficient  to  warrant 
their  detention. 

On  the  same  evening  George  Williams  was  arrested  as  a 
fugitive  slave  and  taken  to  Penningtonville,  where  he  took 
advantage  of  the  sleepiness  of  his  captors  and  walked  off,  and 
"  straight  was  seen  no  more,"  to  the  great  chagrin  of  Henry 
H.  Kline,  the  officer  who  made  the  arrest,  and  of  the  owner 
of  the  slave,  who  was  asleep  on  the  floor. 

Saturday,  January  3,  1852,  Marshal  Roberts  brought  to 
92 


THE    LATER   TRIALS.  93 

Lancaster  as  prisoners  John  Morgan,  Jacob  Moore,  Ezekiel 
Thompson,  Isaiah  Clarkson,  John  Williams,  John  Jackson, 
Benjamin  Johnson,  George  Read,  Daniel  Causeberry,  Ben- 
jamin Pendergrass,  William  Williams,  John  Holliday,  Wil- 
liam Brown,  Elijah  Clark,  William  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Henry 
Sims,  as  prisoners,  and  five  colored  persons  as  witnesses.  The 
witnesses  were  discharged  on  their  recognizance  to  appear  at 
Court  to  testify. 

Public  and  political  interest  in  the  Riot  and  the  Trials 
was  not  allowed  to  flag  from  inattention  to  the  issues  they 
involved  by  those  high  in  authority.  From  "the  seats  of 
the  mighty"  deliverances  were  heard  against  what  was  in- 
terpreted in  some  quarters  as  successful  offensive  resistance 
to  law.  In  his  message  to  Congress  early  in  December,  1851, 
President  Fillmore  had  these  paragraphs,  relating  to  the 
events  at  Christiana. 

"It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  in  several  instances 
officers  of  the  Government,  in  attempting  to  execute  the  law 
for  the  return  of  fugitives  from  labor,  have  been  openly  re- 
sisted and  their  efforts  frustrated  and  defeated  by  lawless  and 
violent  mobs ;  that  in  one  case  such  resistance  resulted  in  the 
death  of  an  estimable  citizen,  and  in  others  serious  injury 
ensued  to  those  officers  and  to  individuals  who  were  using 
their  endeavors  to  sustain  the  laws.  Prosecutions  have  been 
instituted  against  the  alleged  offenders  so  far  as  they  could 
be  identified,  and  are  still  pending.  I  have  regarded  it  as  my 
duty  in  these  cases  to  give  all  aid  legally  in  my  power  to  the 
enforcement  of  the  laws,  and  I  shall  continue  to  do  so  wher- 
ever and  whenever  their  execution  may  be  resisted." 

"Some  objections  have  been  urged  against  the  details  of 
the  act  for  the  return  of  fugitives  from  labor,  but  it  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  the  main  opposition  is  aimed  against  the 
Constitution  itself,  and  proceeds  from  persons  and  classes  of 
persons  many  of  whom  declare  their  wish  to  see  that  Consti- 
tution overturned.  They  avow  their  hostility  to  any  law 


94  THE     CHRISTIANA     KIOT. 

which  shall  give  full  and  practical  effect  to  this  requirement 
of  the  Constitution.  Fortunately  the  number  of  these  per- 
sons is  comparatively  small,  and  is  believed  to  be  daily  dimin- 
ishing; but  the  issue  which  they  present  is  one  which 
involves  the  supremacy  and  even  the  existence  of  the 
Constitution." 

At  an  anti-slavery  meeting,  in  Philadelphia,  held  on  De- 
cember 18,  1851,  Joshua  K.  Giddings  and  Lucretia  Mott  were 
speakers.  The  large  audience  grew  tumultuously  enthusi- 
astic over  the  presentation  on  the  platform  of  Castner  Han- 
way  and  Elijah  Lewis. 

After  the  trial  William  H.  Seward  sent  the  following 
Christmas  greeting  to  District  Attorney  Ashmead,  whose 
son,  Henry  G.  Ashmead,  historian  of  Delaware  County  and 
resident  of  Chester,  cherishes  the  manuscript ;  Mr.  Seward 
was  then  in  his  first  term  as  United  States  Senator,  but  had 
already  distinguished  himself  as  an  anti-slavery  leader: 

WASHINGTON  December  25,  1857 
My  Dear  Sir, 

I  thank  you  for  the  kind  remembrance  manifested  by  you  sending  me 
a  copy  of  your  opening  Argument  on  the  late  Trial  for  Treason.  While 
I  cannot  but  rejoice  in  the  result  of  that  trial  as  a  new  assurance  of  the 
security  of  Popular  Liberty,  I  am  not  unable  to  appreciate  the  ability 
with  which  you  have  maintained  the  untenable  position  which  the  Govern- 
ment was  made  to  assume.  The  argument  is  highly  logical  and  eloquent, 
and  I  cannot  better  manifest  my  good  wishes  for  you  and  for  the  Country 
than  by  expressing  a  hope  that  it  may  be  the  good  fortune  of  the  cause 
of  truth  and  justice  hereafter  to  enlist  you  on  their  side. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 
Very  respectfully  &  truly 

Your  friend, 
WILLIAM  H.   SEWARD. 
John  W.  Ashmead,  Esq., 
District  Attorney  of  the  United  States 
Philadelphia. 

In  his  message  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  at  the 
following  January  Session,  Governor  Lowe  referred  at  length 


THE    LATEB   TRIALS.  95 

to  the  Gorsuch  tragedy.  Despite  the  assurances  of  the  Federal 
administration  through  Secretary  of  State  Daniel  Webster, 
that  all  the  energies  of  the  law  would  be  exerted  to  bring 
the  offenders  to  justice,  Maryland  had  felt  constrained  to 
actively  participate  in  the  prosecution.  "The  blood  of  a 
Marylander,"  he  declared,  "  cried  out  from  the  earth ;  whilst 
the  Genius  of  the  Union  called  aloud  for  a  vindication  of 
outraged  laws."  Otherwise  "  the  flame  of  excitement  would 
spread  from  the  hills  of  Maryland  to  the  savannahs  of  the 
extreme  South,  until  every  Southern  State  would  unite  in 
one  common  feeling  of  horror  and  indignation."  Senator 
Cooper  had  been  retained  by  him ;  and  despite  the  high  ability 
and  signal  service  of  both  him  and  Maryland's  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, there  had  been  a  gross  miscarriage  of  justice.  With  a 
fervor  of  rhetoric  that  was  more  common  then  in  State  papers 
than  it  is  now,  he  declared :  "  Shall  domestic  feuds  destroy 
our  power,  when  the  eyes  of  all  nations  are  turned  to  the 
star  of  our  empire,  as  the  harbinger  of  their  deliverance  ? 
Shall  Kossuth  blast  Hungary  with  the  breath  of  our  discord  ? 
Shall  O'Brien,  in  his  lonely  exile,  see  the  hope  of  Ireland 
pass  down  the  horizon,  with  the  western  sun  ?  May  so  in- 
calculable a  calamity  be  spared  to  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
And  yet,  when  American  blood  is  made  to  flow  upon 
American  soil,  as  a  grateful  libation  to  American  fanaticism ; 
when  whole  communities  stand  listlessly  by,  and  a  prosti- 
tuted press  and  venal  politicians  are  found,  in  the  open  day, 
to  glory  in  the  human  sacrifice;  when  the  Law  proclaims 
its  own  weakness  from  the  Bench,  and  Treason  stalks  un- 
punished, through  the  halls  of  justice ;  the  Nations  can  judge 
of  the  probable  remoteness  of  that  calamity." 

The  official  report  of  his  Attorney  General  justified  the 
Governor  in  becoming  somewhat  heated  over  the  outcome  at 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Brent  had  suffered  not  only  some  per- 
sonal irritation  over  his  position  there,  but  a  keen  profes- 
sional disappointment  in  his  failure  to  convict.  The  blame 


96  THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

for  this  he  distributed  very  generally  among  the  people  of  the 
North  who  sympathized  with  resistance  to  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law;  the  partisan  character  of  the  jury  panel;  the  partiality 
of  the  daily  press  reports;  the  sympathy  of  the  spectators; 
the  treachery  of  the  prison  officials ;  the  bribery  of  Scott,  the 
government's  witnesses ;  and  egregious  errors  of  law  com- 
mitted by  Judge  Grier.  Even  the  amiable  Marshal  did  not 
escape  criticism,  as  evinced  by  this  paragraph : 

"I  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  court,  the  fact  stated 
in  the  'Pennsylvania  Freeman,'  that  the  Marshal  (Mr. 
Roberts)  had  actually  dined  with  the  prisoners,  or  some  of 
them,  during  the  trial,  on  Thanksgiving  day,  and  when  I  was 
about  to  read  the  article  from  the  paper  I  was  stopped  by  his 
Honor,  Judge  Grier,  who  in  behalf  of  the  Marshal,  denied  the 
truth  of  the  statement  that  he  had  so  dined ;  but  unfortunately 
for  the  Judge's  interposition,  the  Marshal  immediately  after- 
wards made  his  own  explanation,  and  admitted  that  he  had 
not  only  assisted  at  the  dinner,  'but  had  set  down  and  par- 
taken sparingly '  of  the  Thanksgiving  dinner,  with  the  white 
prisoners.  I  cannot  but  consider  such  conduct  as  highly  un- 
becoming that  officer  from  whom,  next  to  the  Judge,  we  had 
a  right  to  expect  impartiality  and  a  due  regard  for  decorum." 

It  is  only  fair  to  all  concerned  to  say  that  the  Attorney 
General's  indignation  was  not  taken  very  seriously.  Attorney 
Jackson's  history  of  the  case  corrects  some  of  his  exaggera- 
tions, and  especially  points  out  that  all  of  Mr.  Brent's  col- 
leagues exculpated  Marshal  Roberts  from  any  misconduct. 
Judge  Kane's  own  son,  was  known  to  have  extended  various 
kindnesses  and  courtesies  to  the  prisoners. 

Mr.  Brent's  complaint  on  this  score  seems  almost  ridiculous 
when  one  reads  the  full  particulars  of  the  affair,  as  published 
in  the  Philadelphia  Freeman  of  December  4,  1851.  That 
newspaper  says : 

"  It  affords  us  great  pleasure  to  state,  that  the  Christiana 
prisoners  were  not  wholly  forgotten  on  Thursday  last  in  the 


THE    LATER   TEIALS.  97 

distribution  of  the  good  things  pertaining  to  Thanksgiving. 
Thomas  L.  Kane,  Esq.  (son  of  the  Judge),  sent  to  the  prison 
for  their  use  six  superior  turkeys,  two  of  them  extra  size, 
together  with  a  pound  cake,  weighing  16  pounds.  The  tur- 
keys were  cooked  with  appropriate  fixings,  by  order  of  Mr. 
Freed,  the  Superintendent,  in  the  prison  kitchen,  by  a  female 
prisoner  detached  for  the  purpose.  The  dinner  for  the  white 
prisoners,  Messrs.  Hanway,  Lewis  and  Scarlet,  was  served  in 
appropriate  style  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Morrison,  one  of  the 
keepers.  The  U.  S.  Marshal,  A.  E.  Roberts,  Esq.,  several  of 
the  keepers  and  Mr.  Hawes,  one  of  the  prison  officers,  dined 
with  the  prisoners  as  their  guests.  Mayor  Gilpin  coming  in, 
accepted  an  invitation  to  test  the  quality  of  the  pound  cake, 
Mrs.  Martha  Hanway  who  has  the  honor  to  be  the  wife  of  the 
'  traitor '  of  that  name,  and  who  has  spent  most  of  her  time 
with  her  husband  since  his  incarceration,  served  each  of  the 
27  colored  *  traitors '  with  a  plate  of  turkey,  potatoes,  pound 
cake,  &c.,  and  the  supply  not  being  exhausted,  all  the  prisoners 
on  the  same  corridor  were  similarly  supplied. 

"  Who  will  stand  best  with  posterity — the  father  who  prosti- 
tutes his  powers  as  a  judge  to  procure  the  conviction  of  peace- 
able citizens  as  traitors  for  refusing  to  aid  in  the  capture  of 
fugitive  slaves,  or  the  son  who  ministered  to  the  wants  of  those 
citizens  while  incarcerated  in  a  loathsome  prison  ?  ISTeed  we 
answer  the  question  ?  " 

The  Maryland  witnesses  do  not  appear  to  have  had  as 
cheery  a  Thanksgiving  as  the  prisoners.  Dickinson  Gorsuch's 
diary  had  this  entry : 

"THURSDAY,  Nov.  27.  "Thanksgiving  Day.  This  has  been  a  great 
holiday  here;  there  was  no  court  today.  We  went  to  Mr.  Ashmead's 
office  and  stayed  awhile.  John  Bacon  went  home  after  the  clothes  I  wore 
when  I  was  shot." 

During  their  imprisonment  the  colored  people  and  their 
families  were  largely  supported  by  outside  friends  and 
sympathizers ;  and  many  an  item  such  as  this,  recorded  in  the 

7 


98 


THE     CHRISTIANA    KIOT. 


cash  book  of  Thos.  Wood  (father  of  Mrs.  David  W.  Jackson), 
is  set  down  to  the  credit  of  sympathetic  friends: 

10th  mo.  8,  1851.     Dr.  1  pair  of  pants  and  1  shirt  given  to  Elijah  Clark 
in  Moyamensing;  also  sent  his  wife  qr.  middlings. 

In  another  respect  the  official  complaints  of  Maryland's 
Governor  and  Attorney  General  against  Pennsylvania  justice 
call  for  correction  at  even  this  late  day.  Both  aver  that  "  the 
murder"  of  Kennedy,  a  slave  owner,  at  Carlisle,  killed  in 
resistance  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  went  utterly  unpunished : 
The  facts  are  that  in  that  offense  the  rioters  and  rescuers 
were  led  by  John  Clellans  and  he  and  thirty-six  others  were 
indicted,  Besides  Clellans  twelve  of  the  accused  were  con- 
victed of  riot  and  of  riotously  rescuing  fugitive  slaves  from 
the  lawful  custody  of  their  owners.  Judge  Hepburn  sen- 
tenced them  to  solitary  confinement  at  labor  in  the  Eastern 
Penitentiary  for  three  years.  Charles  Gibbons  represented 
them  on  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court ;  and  Deputy  At- 
torney General  (District  Attorney)  Bonham  for  the  Com- 
monwealth, argued  before  that  tribunal  that  Pennsylvania 
followed  the  law  of  England,  which  upon  conviction  for  riot 
authorized  fine,  imprisonment  and  the  pillory,  and  therefore 
sentence  to  the  penitentiary  was  lawful.  Justice  Burnside 
delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court,  declared  "  it 
was  an  aggravated  case  of  riot " ;  but  that  as  Pennsylvania 
had  adopted  the  English  common  law,  the  imprisonment  must 
be  in  the  county  jail,  and  the  final  judgment  of  the  court  was 
that  as  the  prisoners  had  been  confined  in  the  Eastern  Peni- 
tentiary about  three-fourths  of  a  year,  "we  deem  this  as 
severe  a  punishment  as  if  they  had  been  confined  in  the  county 
jail,  where  they  legitimately  should  have  been  sent,  for  two 
years."  (Clellans  vs.  Com.  8  Barr.  223.) 

Meantime  the  friends  of  Hanway,  Lewis  and  others,  in- 
censed at  the  continued  prosecutions  in  Lancaster  county, 
assumed  the  aggressive. 


THE    LATER   TRIALS.  99 

They  procured  the  indictment  to  the  January  Sessions, 
1852,  No.  38,  in  Lancaster  County,  of  Deputy  Marshal 
Henry  H.  Kline,  for  perjury.  It  was  laid  in  this  indictment 
that  he  had  sworn  falsely  at  the  hearing  before  Alderman 
Reigart,  wherein  he  averred  that  he  had  shown  his  warrant 
to  Hanway,  asked  him  and  Lewis  to  spare  his  men,  that  they 
defied  the  warrant  and  encouraged  the  rioters  and  in  various 
other  particulars.  Upon  this  bill  of  indictment  appeared  the 
names  of  a  large  number  of  witnesses,  and  Kline  was  held 
in  $1,000  bail  before  Charles  G.  Freeman,  alderman  of  Phila- 
delphia, to  answer  at  the  Lancaster  Court. 

It  appears  from  the  subsequent  history  of  the  case  that  all 
parties  involved  were  by  this  time  willing  to  have  "  somebody 
help  them  to  let  go";  and  accordingly  at  the  January  Ses- 
sions, Joseph  McClure,  of  Bart  township,  being  foreman  of 
the  jury,  this  bill  against  Kline  for  perjury,  being  No.  38, 
was  ignored,  and  also  the  following,  indictments  all  to  the 
same  sessions  and  for  Eiot:  No.  57,  William  Brown;  No.  58, 
Win.  Williams;  No.  59,  Henry  Green;  No.  60,  William 
Brown,  Jr.;  No.  61,  Benjamin  Johnson;  No.  63,  Daniel 
Caulsberry ;  No.  64,  George  Wells;  No.  65,  George  Williams; 
No.  66,  Alson  Pernsley;  No.  67,  Lewis  Gales;  No.  68, 
Lewis  Clarkson;  No.  69,  Chas.  Hunter;  No.  70,  Nelson 
Carter;  No.  71,  Jacob  Woods,  a  brother  of  Peter  Woods ;  No. 
72,  Peter  Woods;  No.  73,  Israel  Clarkson;  No.  74,  John 
Williams ;  No.  75,  John  Jackson ;  No.  76,  Castner  Hanway ; 
No.  77,  Elijah  Lewis;  No.  78,  John  Morgan;  No.  81,  Ben- 
jamin Pendergrass;  No.  82,  John  Halliday;  No.  83,  Thomas 
Butler;  No.  84,  Elijah  Clark;  No.  85,  Collister  Wilson. 

With  this  termination  of  the  cases  in  the  local  courts  all 
prosecutions  were  finally  ended  except  that  of  Samuel  Wil- 
liams, in  the  United  States  District  Court  at  Philadelphia. 
He  was  there  charged  with  interfering  with  the  execution  of 
warrants  for  the  arrest  of  Noah  Buley  and  Joshua  Ham- 
mond, runaway  slaves.  His  case  was  first  called  for  trial  on 


100  THE    OHBISTIANA    RIOT. 

January  5,  and  continued  until  January  12.  Mr.  Ashmead 
and  Messrs.  Ludlow  appeared  for  the  prosecution,  and  R.  P. 
Kane,  W.  S.  Pierce  and  David  Paul  Brown  for  the  defense. 
The  following  jury  was  empanelled  to  try  his  case ;  the  last 
name  on  the  list  will  be  recognized  as  that  of  an  estimable 
citizen  of  Lancaster  County: 

Pratt  Roberts,  Chester  County;  Thomas  Vaughan,  Phila- 
delphia ;  Henry  McMahen,  Philadelphia ;  Patrick  McBride, 
Philadelphia ;  Michael  Keenan,  Philadelphia ;  Fredk.  Boley, 
Sr.,  Philadelphia ;  Joseph  Dowden,  Chester  County ;  Samuel 
Gulp,  Germantown;  Minshall  Painter,  Delaware  County; 
Joseph  Thornton,  Philadelphia ;  Francis  Parker,  Chester 
County ;  Peter  McConomy,  Lancaster. 

Kline  was  the  principal  witness  on  this  trial,  and  his  testi- 
mony was  practically  a  repetition  of  what  he  had  sworn  to  in 
the  Hanway  case.  The  trial  judge  fell  ill  during  the  progress 
of  the  case  and  it  was  continued  the  third  time  and  resumed 
on  February  2,  argued  to  the  jury  on  February  3,  and,  on 
February  4,  a  verdict  of  "  not  guilty  "  was  rendered. 

This  closes  the  record  of  all  judicial  proceedings  arising 
out  of  the  Christiana  Riot. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
PARKER'S  OWN  STORY. 

The  Leader  of  the  Defenders  Tells  his  Story  of  what  Occurred  at  "the 
Biot"  —  The  Author  Gives  Eeasons  why  He  takes  the  Narrative  with 
Some  Allowance  —  A  Valuable  Historical  Contribution. 

I  deem  it  entirely  fair  and  proper  at  this  stage  of  the 
narrative  to  republish  entire  William  Parker's  own  account 
of  what  took  place  at  his  house  during  "the  Riot."  It  is 
reproduced  in  the  assurance  that  each  reader  may  —  as  he, 
and  especially  she,  will  —  give  it  such  credibility  as  the 
circumstances  may  command  for  it.  It  is  fit  that  it  be  pre- 
sented with  certain  qualifications  to  the  general  reader  and  to 
the  increasing  number  who  may  peruse  this  history  in  the 
spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  viz.,  one  of  purely  historic 
inquiry. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly  (Boston),  for  February,  1866, 
published  the  first  part  of  what  is  entitled  "  The  Freedman's 
Story,"  introduced  by  one  who  signed  himself  "  E.  K.,"  and 
said  he  was  asked  to  revise  it  for  publication  "  or  weave  its 
facts  into  a  story  which  would  show  the  fitness  of  the 
Southern  black  for  the  right  of  suffrage."  The  editor  evades 
the  natural  inquiry  whether  the  text  is  wholly  Parker's  or 
partially  his  own;  but  it  is  printed  as  that  of  a  freedman 
or  ex-slave  and  as  evidence  "  of  the  manhood  of  his  race  to 
that  impartial  grand-jury,  the  American  people." 

Of  course  it  cannot  be  unreservedly  accepted  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  offered,  that  is:  to  prove  the  fitness  of 
the  Southern  freedman  for  suffrage ;  for  it  is  not  the  narra- 
tive of  a  man  who  was  suddenly  freed  and  enfranchised  by 
the  circumstances  of  war,  but  of  one  who  became  a  fugitive 
slave  many  years  earlier  and  had  the  advantage  of  Northern 
life  and  Canadian  experience  in  the  intervening  period. 

101 


102 


THE    CHRISTIANA    KIOT. 


But  it  is  of  very  decided  value  to  this  attempted  impartial 
and  impersonal  history,  because  it  purports  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  Kiot  as  the  man  most  responsible  for  it  and  most  con- 
spicuous in  it  saw  and  heard  its  incidents;  and,  because  he 
never  had  an  opportunity  to  tell  it  under  the  restraints  of  a 
judicial  examination  or  the  obligations  of  an  oath.  It  must 
be  taken  as  his  voluntary  testimony,  when  he  had  no  hopes 
of  reward  or  fear  of  punishment  to  incite  or  restrain  him. 

The  earlier  part  of  his  life's  story  has  been  already  ab- 
stracted, so  far  as  it  has  any  importance  to  this  history.  It 
leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  he  was  a  heroic  and  a  desperate 
man ;  that  he  was  instigated  by  ideas  of  personal  liberty  for 
himself  and  others,  without  regard  to  law;  and  that  both 
offensively  and  defensively  he  was  "enlisted  for  the  war" 
to  the  death  against  all  and  every  attempt  to  execute  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

Whether  he  is  accurate  in  his  statement  of  what  occurred 
on  the  day  of  "the  Kiot,"  each  reader  must  determine  for 
himself  or  herself.  For  myself,  individually,  I  doubt  the 
literal  truth  of  parts  of  his  narration,  while  I  concede  that 
in  the  main  it  is  true  and  it  certainly  throws  more  illumina- 
tion on  the  actual  occurrences  than  the  testimony  of  any 
other  single  witness. 

I  detect  a  note  of  braggadocio  through  all  Parker's  nar- 
rative, which  slightly  discounts  its  truthfulness.  His  defi- 
ance of  "all  United  States";  his  admitted  attempts  to  de- 
ceive Gorsuch  as  to  the  presence  of  his  slaves  on  the  premises ; 
and  his  avowed  purpose  to  shoot  Gorsuch  influence  my  judg- 
ment. Such  considerations  might  not  have  weight  with  those 
who  believe  a  man  may  be  a  good  citizen  who  violates  and 
defies  a  bad  law.  The  literary  style  of  "The  Freedman's 
Story"  leaves  little  room  for  doubt  that  his  manuscript  was 
edited  by  some  one  with  a  purpose  other  than  strictly 
historical. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  other  person  was  in  so  favorable  a 


PABKEB'S  OWN  STOBY.  103 

position  as  Parker  to  tell  the  actual  story  of  the  Riot,  if  he 
saw  fit  to  do  so,  and  when  this  version  was  published  Parker 
had  nothing  to  gain  or  lose  from  telling  the  truth,  but  the 
zeal  of  his  editor  to  exalt  "the  freedman"  may  have  tinc- 
tured the  story.  That  he  could  remember  its  details  so  ex- 
actly as  to  verbally  reproduce  the  many  conversations  in  the 
Atlantic  fifteen  years  later,  is  more  than  doubtful  —  it  is 
impossible ;  and  his  pretense  to  do  so  discounts  the  attempt. 
In  many  respects  the  narration  accords  with  the  testimony 
of  other  eye-witnesses  and  it  is  not  out  of  harmony  in  the 
main  with  the  evidence  produced  on  the  trial.  While  it 
ascribes  language  to, Mr.  Gorsuch  that  likely  he  did  not  use, 
and  may  put  into  his  hands  weapons  that  he  did  not  carry, 
Parker's  story  certainly  gives  the  Gorsuches,  father  and  son, 
due  credit  for  valor ;  and  it  makes  some  of  their  allies  scarcely 
more  timid  than  the  trial  disclosed  them  to  have  been. 

Howbeit,  the  story  told  by  Parker  is  an  essential  part  of 
the  history  of  the  case  and  it  is  here  reprinted  out  of  fair- 
ness to  all  parties  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  Riot  and  events 
immediately  preceding  it. 

WILLIAM  PABKEB'S  STOBY. 

The  Atlantic  Monthly  article,  Part  II,  March,  1866,  to 
which  attention  has  been  given,  presupposes  a  previous  ac- 
count of  Parker's  early  life,  the  escape  of  the  Gorsuch  slaves, 
the  warrants  for  their  re-capture,  the  departure  of  Deputy 
Marshal  Kline  to  execute  them  and  "  Sam  Williams's  "  mis- 
sion to  Lancaster  County  to  warn  them  and  their  friends  of 
the  impending  raid  upon  them,  substantially  as  they  have 
been  told  already.  Parker  then  proceeds: 

The  information  brought  by  Mr.  Williams  spread  through 
the  vicinity  like  a  fire  in  the  prairies;  and  when  I  went 
home  from  my  work  in  the  evening,  I  found  Pinckney  (whom 
I  should  have  said  before  was  my  brother-in-law),  Abra- 
ham Johnson,  Samuel  Thompson  and  Joshua  Kite  at  my 


104  THE     CHRISTIANA     EIOT. 

house,  all  of  them  excited  about  the  rumor.  I  laughed  at 
them,  and  said  it  was  all  talk.  This  was  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1851.  They  stopped  for  the  night  with  us,  and  we 
went  to  bed  as  usual.  Before  daylight,  Joshua  Kite  rose, 
and  started  for  his  home.  Directly,  he  ran  back  to  the 
house,  burst  open  the  door,  crying,  "O  William!  kidnap- 
pers !  kidnappers !" 

He  said  that,  when  he  was  just  beyond  the  yard,  two  men 
crossed  before  him,  as  if  to  stop  him,  and  others  came  up  on 
either  side.  As  he  said  this,  they  had  reached  the  door. 
Joshua  ran  up  stairs  (we  slept  up  stairs),  and  they  fol- 
lowed him ;  but  I  met  them  at  the  landing,  and  asked,  "  Who 
are  you?" 

The  leader,  Kline,  replied,  "I  am  the  United  States 
Marshal." 

I  then  told  him  to  take  another  step  and  I  would  break  his 
neck. 

He  again  said,  "  I  am  the  United  States  Marshal." 

I  told  him  I  did  not  care  for  him  nor  the  United  States. 
At  that  he  turned  and  went  down  stairs. 

Pinckney  said,  as  he  turned  to  go  down,  —  "Where  is  the 
use  in  fighting?  They  will  take  us." 

Kline  heard  him,  and  said,  "  Yes,  give  up,  for  we  can  and 
will  take  you  anyhow." 

I  told  them  all  not  to  be  afraid,  nor  to  give  up  to  any 
slaveholder,  but  to  fight  until  death. 

"Yes,"  said  Kline,  "I  have  heard  many  a  negro  talk  as 
big  as  you,  and  then  have  taken  him ;  and  I'll  take  you." 

"You  have  not  taken  me  yet,"  I  replied;  "and  if  you 
undertake  it  you  will  have  your  name  recorded  in  history  for 
this  day's  work." 

Mr.  Gorsuch  then  spoke,  and  said,  — "  Come,  Mr.  Kline, 
let's  go  up  stairs  and  take  them.  We  can  take  them.  Come, 
follow  me.  I'll  go  up  and  get  my  property.  What's  in  the 


PABKKB'S  OWN  STOKY.  105 

way?  The  law  is  in  my  favor,  and  the  people  are  in  my 
favor." 

At  that  he  began  to  ascend  the  stair ;  but  I  said  to  him,  — 
"  See  here,  old  man,  you  can  come  up,  but  you  can't  go  down 
again.  Once  up  here,  you  are  mine." 

Kline  then  said  —  "Stop,  Mr.  Gorsuch.  I  will  read  the 
warrant,  and  then,  I  think,  they  will  give  up." 

He  then  read  the  warrant,  and  said,  —  "  Now,  you  see,  we 
are  commanded  to  take  you,  dead  or  alive;  so  you  may  as 
well  give  up  at  once." 

"Go  up,  Mr.  Kline,"  then  said  Gorsuch,  "you  are  the 
Marshal." 

Kline  started,  and  when  a  little  way  up  said,  "I  am 
coming." 

I  said,  "Well,  come. on." 

But  he  was  too  cowardly  to  show  his  face.  He  went  down 
again  and  said,  —  "  You  had  better  give  up  without  any  more 
fuss,  for  we  are  bound  to  take  you  anyhow.  I  told  you  before 
that  I  was  the  United  States  Marshal,  yet  you  will  not  give 
up.  I'll  not  trouble  the  slaves.  I  will  take  you  and  make  you 
pay  for  all." 

"  Well,"  I  answered,  "  take  me  and  make  me  pay  for  all. 
I'll  pay  for  all." 

Mr.  Gorsuch  then  said,  "  You  have  my  property." 

To  which  I  replied,  — "  Go  in  the  room  down  there,  and 
see  if  there  is  anything  there  belonging  to  you.  There  are 
beds  and  a  bureau,  chairs,  and  other  things.  Then  go  out  to 
the  barn;  there  you  will  find  a  cow  and  some  hogs.  See  if 
any  of  them  are  yours." 

He  said,  —  "  They  are  not  mine ;  I  want  my  men.  They 
are  here,  and  I  am  bound  to  have  them." 

Thus  we  parleyed  for  a  time,  all  because  of  the  pusilla- 
nimity of  the  Marshal,  when  he,  at  last,  said,  —  "I  am  tired 
waiting  on  you ;  I  see  you  are  not  going  to  give  up.  Go  to  the 


106  THE     CHRISTIANA     RIOT. 

barn  and  fetch  some  straw,"  said  he  to  one  of  his  men.  "I 
will  set  the  house  on  fire,  and  burn  them  up." 

"  Burn  us  up  and  welcome,"  said  I.  "  None  but  a  coward 
would  say  the  like.  You  can  burn  us,  but  you  can't  take  us ; 
before  I  give  up,  you  will  see  my  ashes  scattered  on  the  earth." 

By  this  time  day  had  begun  to  dawn;  and  then  my  wife 
came  to  me  and  asked  if  she  should  blow  the  horn,  to  bring 
friends  to  our  assistance.  I  assented,  and  she  went  to  the 
garret  for  the  purpose.  When  the  horn  sounded  from  the 
garret  window,  one  of  the  ruffians  asked  the  others  what  it 
meant ;  and  Kline  said  to  me,  "  What  do  you  mean  by  blow- 
ing that  horn  ? " 

I  did  not  answer.  It  was  a  custom  with  us,  when  a  horn 
was  blown  at  an  unusual  hour,  to  proceed  to  the  spot  promptly 
to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Kline  ordered  his  men  to  shoot 
any  one  they  saw  blowing  the  horn.  There  was  a  peach-tree 
at  that  end  of  the  house.  Up  it  two  of  the  men  climbed ;  and 
when  my  wife  went  a  second  time  to  the  window,  they  fired 
as  soon  as  they  heard  the  blast,  but  missed  their  aim.  My 
wife  then  went  down  on  her  knees,  and,  drawing  her  head  and 
body  below  the  range  of  the  window,  the  horn  resting  on  the 
sill,  blew  blast  after  blast,  while  the  shots  poured  thick  and 
fast  around  her.  They  must  have  fired  ten  or  twelve  times. 
The  house  was  of  stone,  and  the  windows  were  deep,  which 
alone  preserved  her  life. 

They  were  evidently  disconcerted  by  the  blowing  of  the 
horn.  Gorsuch  said  again,  "  I  want  my  property,  and  I  will 
have  it." 

"  Old  man,"  said  I,  "  you  look  as  if  you  belonged  to  some 
persuasion." 

"  Never  mind,"  he  answered,  "  what  persuasion  I  belong 
to;  I  want  my  property." 

While  I  was  leaning  out  of  the  window,  Kline  fired  a  pistol 
at  me,  but  the  shot  went  too  high;  the  ball  broke  the  glass 
just  above  my  head.  I  was  talking  to  Gorsuch  at  the  time. 


PARKER'S  OWN  STOKY.  107 

I  seized  a  gun  and  aimed  it  at  Gorsuch's  breast,  for  he  evi- 
dently had  instigated  Kline  to  fire;  but  Pinckney  caught  my 
arm  and  said,  "  Don't  shoot."  The  gun  went  off,  just  grazing 
Gorsuch's  shoulder.  Another  conversation  then  ensued  be- 
tween Gorsuch,  Kline,  and  myself,  when  another  one  of  the 
party  fired  at  me  but  missed.  Dickinson  Gorsuch,  I  then 
saw,  was  preparing  to  shoot ;  and  I  told  him  if  he  missed,  I 
would  show  him  where  shooting  first  came  from. 

I  asked  them  to  consider  what  they  would  have  done,  had 
they  been  in  our  position.  "  I  know  you.  want  to  kill  us,"  I 
said,  "  for  you  .have  shot  at  us  time  and  again.  We  have  only 
fired  twice,  although  we  have  guns  and  ammunition,  and 
could  kill  you  all  if  we  would,  but  we  do  not  want  to  shed 
blood." 

"  If  you  do  not  shoot  any  more,"  then  said  Kline,  "  I  will 
stop  my  men  from  firing." 

They  then  ceased  for  a  time.     This  was  about  sunrise. 

Mr.  Gorsuch  now  said,  —  "Give  up  and  let  me  have  my 
property.  Hear  what  the  Marshal  says ;  the  Marshal  is  your 
friend.  He  advises  you  to  give  up  without  more  fuss,  for  my 
property  I  will  have." 

I  denied  that  I  had  his  property  when  he  replied,  "  You 
have  my  men." 

"Am  I  your  man?"  I  asked. 

"No." 

I  then  called  Pinckney  forward. 

"  Is  that  your  man  ? " 

"No." 

Abraham  Johnson  I  called  next,  but  Gorsuch  said  he  was 
not  his  man. 

The  only  plan  left  was  to  call  both  Pinckney  and  Johnson 
again ;  for  had  I  called  the  others,  he  would  have  recognized 
them,  for  they  were  his  slaves. 

Abraham  Johnson  said,  "  Does  such  a  shrivelled  up  old 


108  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

slaveholder  as  you  own  such  a  nice,  genteel  young  man  as 
I  am?" 

At  this  Gorsuch  took  offence,  and  charged  me  with  dictat- 
ing his  language.  I  then  told  him  there  were  but  five  of  us, 
which  he  denied,  and  still  insisted  that  I  had  his  property. 
One  0f  the  party  then  attacked  the  Abolitionists,  affirming 
that,  although  they  declared  there  could  not  be  property  in 
man,  the  Bible  was  conclusive  authority  in  favor  of  property 
in  human  flesh. 

"  Yes,"  said  Gorsuch,  "  does  not  the  Bible  say,  '  Servants, 
obey  your  masters '  ? " 

I  said  that  it  did,  but  the  same  Bible  said,  "  Give  unto 
your  servants  that  which  is  just  and  equal." 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  we  went  into  a  mutual 
Scripture  inquiry,  and  bandied  views  in  the  manner  of  gar- 
rulous old  wives. 

When  I  spoke  of  duty  to  servants,  Gorsuch  said,  "  Do  you 
know  that  ? " 

"  Where,"  I  asked,  "  do  you  see  it  in  Scripture  that  a  man 
should  traffic  in  his  brother's  blood?" 

"Do  you  call  a  nigger  my  brother?"  said  Gorsuch. 

"Yes,"  said  I. 

"  William,"  said  Samuel  Thompson,  "  he  has  been  a  class- 
leader." 

When  Gorsuch  heard  that,  he  hung  his  head,  but  said  noth- 
ing. We  then  all  joined  in  singing, — 

"Leader,  what  do  you  say 
About  the  judgment  day? 

I  will  die  on  the  field  of  battle, 

Die  on  the  field  of  battle, 
With  glory  in  my  soul." 

Then  we  all  began  to  shout,  singing  meantime,  and 
shouted  for  a  long  while.  Gorsuch,  who  was  standing  head 
bowed,  said  "What  are  you  doing  now?" 

Samuel  Thompson  replied,  "  Preaching  a  sinner's  funeral 
sermon." 


PARKER'S  OWN  STORY.  109 

"You  had  better  give  up,  and  come  down." 

I  then  said  to  Gorsuch,  —  " '  If  a  brother  see  a  sword  com- 
ing, and  he  warn  not  his  brother,  then  the  brother's  blood 
is  required  at  his  hands;  but  if  the  brother  see  the  sword 
coming,  and  warn  his  brother,  and  his  brother  flee  not,  then 
his  brother's  blood  is  required  at  his  own  hand.'  I  see  the 
sword  coming,  and,  old  man,  I  warn  you  to  flee;  if  you  flee 
not,  your  blood  be  upon  your  own  hand." 

It  was  now  about  seven  o'clock. 

"You  had  better  give  up,"  said  old  Mr.  Gorsuch,  after 
another  while,  "  and  come  down,  for  I  have  come  a  long  way 
this  morning,  and  want  my  breakfast ;  for  my  property  I  will 
have,  or  I'll  breakfast  in  hell.  I  will  go  up  and  get  it." 

He  then  started  up  stairs,  and  came  far  enough  to  see 
us  all  plainly.  We  were  just  about  to  fire  upon  him,  when 
Dickinson  Gorsuch,  who  was  standing  on  the  old  oven,  before 
the  door,  and  could  see  into  the  up-stairs  room  through  the 
window,  jumped  down  and  caught  his  father,  saying,  —  "O 
father,  do  come  down!  do  come  down!  They  have  guns, 
swords,  and  all  kinds  of  weapons!  They'll  kill  you!  Do 
come  down ! " 

The  old  man  turned  and  left.  When  down  with  him, 
young  Gorsuch  could  scarce  draw  breath,  and  the  father 
looked  more  like  a  dead  than  a  living  man,  so  frightened 
were  they  at  their  supposed  danger.  The  old  man  stood  some 
time  without  saying  anything;  at  last  he  said,  as  if  solilo- 
quizing, "  I  want  my  property,  and  I  will  have  it." 

Kline  broke  forth,  "If  you  don't  give  up  by  fair  means, 
you  will  have  to  by  foul." 

I  told  him  we  would  not  surrender  on  any  conditions. 

Young  Gorsuch  then  said,  —  "  Don't  ask  them  to  give  up, 
—  make  them  do  it.  We  have  money,  and  can  call  men  to 
take  them.  What  is  it  that  money  won't  buy  ? " 

Then  said  Kline,  —  "I  am  getting  tired  waiting  on  you ; 
I  see  you  are  not  going  to  give  up." 


110  THE     CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

He  then  wrote  a  note  and  handed  it  to  Joshua  Gorsuch, 
saying  at  the  same  time,  — "  Take  it,  and  bring  a  hundred 
men  from  Lancaster." 

As  he  started,  I  said,  —  "See  here!  When  you  go  to 
Lancaster,  don't  bring  a  hundred  men,  —  bring  five  hundred. 
It  will  take  all  the  men  in  Lancaster  to  change  our  purpose  or 
take  us  alive." 

He  stopped  to  confer  with  Kline,  when  Pinckney  said, 
"We  had  better  give  up." 

"  You  are  getting  afraid,"  said  I. 

"Yes,"  said  Kline,  "give  up  like  men.  The  rest  would 
give  up  if  it  were  not  for  you." 

"I  am  not  afraid,"  said  Pinckney;  "but  where  is  the 
sense  in  fighting  against  so  many  men,  and  only  five  of  us  ? " 

The  whites,  at  this  time,  were  coming  from  all  quarters, 
and  Kline  was  enrolling  them  as  fast  as  they  came.  Their 
numbers  alarmed  Pinckney,  and  I  told  him  to  go  and  sit 
down ;  but  he  said,  "  No,  I  will  go  down  stairs." 

I  told  him,  if  he  attempted  it,  I  should  be  compelled  to 
blow  out  his  brains.  "  Don't  believe  that  any  living  man  can 
take  you,"  I  said.  "  Don't  give  up  to  any  slaveholder." 

To  Abraham  Johnson,  who  was  near  me,  I  then  turned. 
He  declared  he  was  not  afraid.  "  I  will  fight  till  I  die,"  he 
said. 

At  this  time,  Hannah,  Pinckney's  wife,  had  become  im- 
patient of  our  persistent  course ;  and  my  wife,  who  brought 
me  her  message  urging  us  to  surrender,  seized  a  corn-cutter, 
and  declared  she  would  cut  off  the  head  of  the  first  one  who 
should  attempt  to  give  up. 

Another  one  of  Gorsuch's  slaves  was  coming  along  the  high- 
road at  this  time,  and  I  beckoned  to  him  to  go  around.  Pinck- 
ney saw  him,  and  soon  became  more  inspired.  Elijah  Lewis, 
a  Quaker,  also  came  along  about  this  time :  I  beckoned  to  him, 
likewise ;  but  he  came  straight  on,  and  was  met  by  Kline,  who 
ordered  him  to  assist  him.  Lewis  asked  for  his  authority, 


PARKER'S  OWN  STORY.  Ill 

and  Kline  handed  him  the  warrant.  While  Lewis  was  read- 
ing, Castner  Hanway  came  up,  and  Lewis  handed  the  warrant 
to  him.  Lewis  asked  Kline  what  Parker  said. 

Kline  replied,  "He  won't  give  up." 

Then  Lewis  and  Hanway  both  said  to  the  Marshal,  —  "  If 
Parker  says  they  will  not  give  up,  you  had  better  let  them 
alone,  for  he  will  kill  some  of  you.  We  are  not  going  to  risk 
our  lives  " — and  they  turned  to  go  away. 

While  they  were  talking,  I  came  down  and  stood  in  the 
doorway,  my  men  following  behind. 

Old  Mr.  Gorsuch  said,  when  I  appeared,  "They'll  come 
out,  and  get  away !  "  and  he  came  back  to  the  gate. 

I  then  said  to  him,  —  "  You  said  you  could  and  would  take 
us.  Now  you  have  the  chance." 

They  were  a  cowardly-looking  set  of  men. 

Mr.  Gorsuch  said,  "  You  can't  come  out  here." 

"  Why  ?  "  said  I.  "  This  is  my  place.  I  pay  rent  for  it. 
I'll  let  you  see  if  I  can't  come  out." 

"  I  don't  care  if  you  do  pay  rent  for  it,"  said  he.  "  If  you 
come  out,  I  will  give  you  the  contents  of  these" — present- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  two  revolvers,  one  in  each  hand. 

I  said,  "  Old  man,  if  you  don't  go  away,  I  will  break  your 
neck." 

I  then  walked  up  to  where  he  stood  his  arms  resting  on  the 
gate,  trembling  as  if  afflicted  with  palsy,  and  laid  my  hand 
on  his  shoulder,  saying,  "  I  have  seen  pistols  before  to-day." 
Kline  now  came  running  up,  and  entreated  Gorsuch  to  come 
away. 

"  No,"  said  the  latter,  "  I  will  have  my  property,  or  go  to 
hell." 

"  What  do  you  intend  to  do  ? "  said  Kline  to  me. 

"I  intend  to  fight,"  said  I.  "I  intend  to  try  your 
strength." 

"  If  you  will  withdraw  your  men,"  he  replied,  "  I  will  with- 
draw mine." 


112  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

I  told  him  it  was  too  late.  "  You  would  not  withdraw 
when  you  had  the  chance,  —  you  shall  not  now." 

Kline  then  went  back  to  Hanway  and  Lewis.  Gorsuch 
made  a  signal  to  his  men,  and  they  all  fell  into  line.  I  fol- 
lowed his  example  as  well  as  I  could ;  but  as  we  were  not  more 
than  ten  paces  apart,  it  was  difficult  to  do  so.  At  this  time 
we  numbered  but  ten,  while  there  were  between  thirty  and 
forty  of  the  white  men. 

While  I  was  talking  to  Gorsuch,  his  son  said,  "Father, 
will  you  take  all  this  from  a  nigger  ? " 

I  answered  him  by  saying  that  I  respected  old  age;  but 
that,  if  he  would  repeat  that,  I  should  knock  his  teeth  down 
his  throat.  At  this  he  fired  upon  me,  and  I  ran  up  to  him 
and  knocked  the  pistol  out  of  his  hand,  when  he  let  the  other 
one  fall  and  ran  in  the  field. 

My  brother-in-law,  who  was  standing  near,  then  said,  "  I 
can  stop  him" — and  with  his  double-barrel  gun  he  fired. 

Young  Gorsuch  fell,  but  rose  and  ran  on  again.  Pinckney 
fired  a  second  time  and  again  Gorsuch  fell,  but  was  soon  up 
again  and,  running  into  the  cornfield,  lay  down  in  the 
fence  corner. 

I  returned  to  my  men,  and  found  Samuel  Thompson  talk- 
ing to  old  Mr.  Gorsuch,  his  master.  They  were  both  angry. 

"Old  man,  you  had  better  go  home  to  Maryland,"  said 
Samuel. 

"  You  had  better  give  up,  and  come  home  with  me,"  said 
the  old  man. 

Thompson  took  Pinckney's  gun  from  him,  struck  Gor- 
such, and  brought  him  to  his  knees.  Gorsuch  rose  and  sig- 
nalled to  his  men.  Thompson  then  knocked  him  down  again, 
and  he  again  rose.  At  this  time  all  the  white  men  opened 
fire,  and  we  rushed  upon  them;  when  they  turned,  threw 
down  their  guns  and  ran  away.  We,  being  closely  engaged, 
clubbed  our  rifles.  We  were  too  closely  pressed  to  fire,  but 
we  found  a  good  deal  could  be  done  with  empty  guns. 


113 

Old  Mr.  Gorsuch  was  the  bravest  of  his  party ;  he  held  on 
to  his  pistols  until  the  last,  while  all  the  others  threw  away 
their  weapons.  I  saw  as  many  as  three  at  a  time  fighting  with 
him.  Sometimes  he  was  on  his  knees,  then  on  his  back,  and 
again  his  feet  would  be  where  his  head  should  be.  He  was  a 
fine  soldier  and  a  brave  man.  Whenever  he  saw  the  least 
opportunity,  he  would  take  aim.  While  in  close  quarters 
with  the  whites,  we  could  load  and  fire  but  two  or  three 
times.  Our  guns  got  bent  and  out  of  order.  So  damaged  did 
they  become,  that  we  could  shoot  with  but  two  or  three  of 
them.  Samuel  Thompson  bent  his  gun  on  old  Mr.  Gorsuch  so 
badly,  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  us. 

When  the  white  men  ran,  they  scattered.  I  ran  after 
Nathan  Nelson,  but  could  not  catch  him.  I  never  saw  a  man 
run  faster.  Eeturning,  I  saw  Joshua  Gorsuch  coming,  and 
Pinckney  behind  him.  I  reminded  him  that  he  would  like 
"  to  take  hold  of  a  nigger."  told  him  that  now  was  his 
"chance,"  and  struck  him  a  blow  on  the  side  of  the  head, 
which  stopped  him.  Pinckney  came  up  behind,  and  gave 
him  a  blow  which  brought  him  to  the  ground ;  as  the  others 
passed,  they  gave  him  a  kick  or  jumped  upon  him,  until 
the  blood  oozed  out  at  his  ears. 

Nicholas  Hutchings  and  Nathan  Nelson  of  Baltimore 
County,  Maryland,  could  outrun  any  men  I  ever  saw.  They 
and  Kline  were  not  brave,  like  the  Gorsuches.  Could  our 
men  have  got  them,  they  would  have  been  satisfied. 

One  of  our  men  ran  after  Dr.  Pierce,  as  he  richly  deserved 
attention ;  but  Pierce  caught  up  with  Castner  Hanway,  who 
rode  between  the  fugitive  and  the  Doctor,  to  shield  him 
and  some  others.  Hanway  was  told  to  get  out  of  the  way, 
or  he  would  forfeit  his  life;  he  went  aside  quickly,  and  the 
man  fired  at  the  Marylander,  but  missed  him,  —  he  was  too 
far  off.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  was  wounded  or  not ;  but 
I  do  know  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  Hanway,  he  would 
have  been  killed. 


114  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

Having  driven  the  slavocrats  off  in  every  direction,  our 
party  now  turned  towards  their  several  homes.  Some  of  us, 
however,  went  back  to  my  house,  where  we  found  several 
of  the  neighbors. 

The  scene  at  the  house  beggars  description.  Old  Mr.  Gor- 
such  was  lying  in  the  yard  in  a  pool  of  blood,  and  confusion 
reigned  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  house. 

Levi  Pownall  said  to  me,  "  The  weather  is  so  hot  and  the 
flies  are  so  bad,  will  you  give  me  a  sheet  to  put  over  the 


In  reply,  I  gave  him  permission  to  get  anything  he 
needed  from  the  house. 

"Dickinson  Gorsuch  is  lying  in  the  fence-corner,  and  I 
believe  he  is  dying.  Give  me  something  for  him  to  drink," 
said  Pownall,  who  seemed  to  be  acting  the  part  of  the  Good 
Samaritan. 

When  he  returned  from  ministering  to  Dickinson,  he  told 
me  he  could  not  live. 

The  riot,  so  called,  was  now  entirely  ended.  The  elder 
Gorsuch  was  dead;  his  son  and  nephew  were  both  wounded, 
and  I  have  reason  to  believe  others  were,  —  how  many,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say.  Of  our  party,  only  two  were  wounded. 
One  received  a  ball  in  his  hand,  near  the  wrist ;  but  it  only 
entered  the  skin,  and  he  pushed  it  out  with  his  thumb.  An- 
other received  a  ball  in  the  fleshy  part  of  his  thigh,  which 
had  to  be  extracted;  but  neither  of  them  were  sick  or  crip- 
pled by  the  wounds.  When  young  Gorsuch  fired  at  me  in  the 
early  part  of  the  battle,  both  balls  passed  through  my  hat, 
cutting  off  my  hair  close  to  the  skin,  but  they  drew  no  blood. 
The  marks  were  not  more  than  an  inch  apart. 

A  story  was  afterwards  circulated  that  Mr.  Gorsuch  shot 
his  own  slave,  and  in  retaliation  his  slave  shot  him;  but  it 
was  without  foundation.  His  slave  struck  him  the  first  and 
second  blows ;  then  three  or  four  sprang  upon  him,  and,  when 
he  became  helpless,  left  him  to  pursue  others.  The  women 


115 

put  an  end  to  him.  His  slaves,  so  far  from  meeting  death 
at  his  hands,  are  all  still  living. 

After  the  fight,  my  wife  was  obliged  to  secrete  herself, 
leaving  the  children  in  care  of  her  mother,  and  to  the  chari- 
ties of  our  neighbors.  I  was  questioned  by  my  friends  as 
to  what  I  should  do,  as  they  were  looking  for  officers  to  arrest 
me.  I  determined  not  to  be  taken  alive,  and  told  them  so; 
but,  thinking  advice  as  to  our  future  course  necessary,  went 
to  see  some  old  friends  and  consult  about  it.  Their  advice 
was  to  leave,  as,  were  we  captured  and  imprisoned,  they 
could  not  foresee  the  result.  Acting  upon  this  hint,  we  set  out 
for  home,  when  we  met  some  female  friends,  who  told  us 
that  forty  or  fifty  armed  men  were  at  my  house,  looking  for 
me,  and  that  we  had  better  stay  away  from  the  place,  if 
we  did  not  want  to  be  taken.  Abraham  Johnson  and  Pinck- 
ney  hereupon  halted,  to  agree  upon  the  best  course,  while  I 
turned  around  and  went  another  way. 

Before  setting  out  on  my  long  journey  northward,  I  de- 
termined to  have  an  interview  with  my  family,  if  possible, 
and  to  that  end  changed  my  course.  As  we  went  along  the 
road  to  where  I  found  them,  we  met  men  in  companies  of 
three  and  four,  who  had  been  drawn  together  by  the  excite- 
ment. On  one  occasion,  we  met  ten  or  twelve  together.  They 
all  left  the  road,  and  climbed  over  the  fences  into  the  fields  to 
let  us  pass;  and  then  after  we  had  passed,  turned,  and 
looked  after  us  as  far  as  they  could  see.  Had  we  been 
carrying  destruction  to  all  human  kind,  they  could  not 
have  acted  more  absurdly.  We  went  to  a  friend's  house 
and  stayed  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  until  nine  o'clock  that 
night  when  we  set  out  for  Canada. 

The  great  trial  now  was  to  leave  my  wife  and  family.  Un- 
certain as  to  the  result  of  the  journey,  I  felt  I  would  rather 
die  than  be  separated  from  them.  It  had  to  be  done,  how- 
ever; and  we  went  forth  with  heavy  hearts,  outcasts  for 
the  sake  of  liberty.  When  we  had  walked  as  far  as  Christi- 


116  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

ana,  we  saw  a  large  crowd,  late  as  it  was,  to  some  of  whom, 
at  least,  I  must  have  been  known,  as  we  heard  distinctly, 
"A'n't  that  Parker?" 

"Yes,"  was  answered,  "that's  Parker." 

Kline  was  called  for,  and  he,  with  some  nine  or  ten  more, 
followed  after.  We  stopped,  and  then  they  stopped.  One 
said  to  his  comrades,  "Go  on,  —  that's  him."  And  another 
replied,  "  You  go."  So  they  contended  for  a  time  who  should 
come  to  us.  At  last  they  went  back.  I  was  sorry  to  see 
them  go  back,  for  I  wanted  to  meet  Kline  and  end  the  day's 
transactions. 

We  went  on  unmolested  to  Penningtonville ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  excitement,  thought  best  to  continue  on  to 
Parkesburg.  Nothing  worth  mention  occurred  for  a  time. 
We  proceeded  to  Downingtown,  and  thence  six  miles  be- 
yond, to  the  house  of  a  friend.  We  stopped  with  him  on 
Saturday  night,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  went  fifteen 
miles  farther.  Here  I  learned  from  a  preacher,  directly 
from  the  city,  that  the  excitement  in  Philadelphia  was  too 
great  for  us  to  risk  our  safety  by  going  there.  Another  man 
present  advised  us  to  go  to  Norristown. 

At  Norristown  we  rested  a  day.  The  friends  gave  us  ten 
dollars,  and  sent  us  in  a  vehicle  to  Quakertown.  Our  driver, 
being  partly  intoxicated,  set  us  down  at  the  wrong  place, 
which  obliged  us  to  stay  out  all  night.  At  eleven  o'clock  the 
next  day  we  got  to  Quakertown.  We  had  gone  about  six 
miles  out  of  the  way,  and  had  to  go  directly  across  the 
country.  We  rested  the  16th,  and  set  out  in  the  evening 
for  Friendsville. 

A  friend  piloted  us  some  distance,  and  we  travelled  until 
we  became  very  tired,  when  we  went  to  bed  under  a  haystack. 
On  the  17th,  we  took  breakfast  at  an  inn.  We  passed  a  small 
village,  and  asked  a  man  whom  we  met  with  a  dearborn,  what 
would  be  his  charge  to  Windgap.  "  One  dollar  and  fifty 


PARKER'S  OWN  STORY.  117 

cents,"  was  the  ready  answer.  So  in  we  got,  and  rode  to  that 
place. 

As  we  wanted  to  make  some  inquiries  when  we  struck  the 
north  and  south  road,  I  went  into  the  post-office,  and  asked  for 
a  letter  for  John  Thomas,  which  of  course  I  did  not  get.  The 
postmaster  scrutinized  us  closely,  —  more  so,  indeed,  than 
any  one  had  done  on  the  Blue  Mountains,  —  but  informed  us 
that  Friendsville  was  between  forty  and  fifty  miles  away. 
After  going  about  nine  miles,  we  stopped  in  the  evening  of  the 
18th  at  an  inn,  got  supper,  were  politely  served,  and  had  an 
excellent  night's  -rest.  On  the  next  day  we  set  out  for  Tan- 
nersville,  hiring  a  conveyance  for  twenty-two  miles  of  the 
way.  We  had  no  further  difficulty  on  the  entire  road  to 
Kochester,  —  more  than  five  hundred  miles  by  the  route  we 
travelled. 

Some  amusing  incidents  occurred,  however,  which  it  may 
be  well  to  relate  in  this  connection.  The  next  morning,  after 
stopping  at  the  tavern,  we  took  the  cars  and  rode  to  Homer- 
ville,  where,  after  waiting  an  hour,  as  our  landlord  of  the 
night  previous  had  directed  us,  we  took  stage.  Being  the  first 
applicants  for  tickets,  we  secured  inside  seats,  and,  from  the 
number  of  us,  we  took  up  all  of  the  places  inside ;  but,  another 
traveller  coming,  I  tendered  him  mine,  and  rode  with  the 
driver.  The  passenger  thanked  me;  but  the  driver,  a  churl, 
and  the  most  prejudiced  person  I  ever  came  in  contact  with, 
would  never  wait  after  a  stop  until  I  could  get  on,  but  would 
drive  away,  and  leave  me  to  swing,  climb,  or  cling  on  to  the 
stage  as  best  I  could.  Our  traveller,  at  last  noticing  his  be- 
havior, told  him  promptly  not  to  be  so  fast,  but  let  all  pas- 
sengers get  on,  which  had  the  effect  to  restrain  him  a  little. 

At  Big  Eddy  we  took  the  cars.  Directly  opposite  me  sat  a 
gentleman,  who,  on  learning  that  I  was  for  Rochester,  said  he 
was  going  there  too,  and  afterwards  proved  an  agreeable  trav- 
elling companion. 

A  newsboy  came  in  with  papers,  some  of  which  the  pas- 


118  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

sengers  bought.  Upon  opening  them,  they  read  of  the  fight  at 
Christiana. 

"O,  see  here!"  said  my  neighbor;  "great  excitement  at 
Christiana ;  a  —  a  statesman  killed,  and  his  son  and  nephew 
badly  wounded." 

After  reading,  the  passengers  began  to  exchange  opinions 
on  the  case.  Some  said  they  would  like  to  catch  Parker,  and 
get  the  thousand  dollars  reward  offered  by  the  State ;  but  the 
man  opposite  to  me  said,  "  Parker  must  be  a  powerful  man." 

I  thought  to  myself,  "  If  you  could  tell  what  I  can,  you 
could  judge  about  that." 

Pinckney  and  Johnson  became  alarmed,  and  wanted  to 
leave  the  cars  at  the  next  stopping-place;  but  I  told  them  there 
was  no  danger.  I  then  asked  particularly  about  Christiana, 
where  it  was,  on  what  railroad,  and  other  questions,  to  all  of 
which  I  received  correct  replies.  One  of  the  men  became  so 
much  attached  to  me,  that,  when  we  would  go  to  an  eating- 
saloon,  he-  would  pay  for  both.  At  Jefferson  we  thought  of 
leaving  the  cars,  and  taking  the  boat ;  but  they  told  us  to  keep 
on  the  cars,  and  we  would  get  to  Rochester  by  nine  o'clock  the 
next  night. 

We  left  Jefferson  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
arrived  at  Rochester  at  nine  the  same  morning.  Just  before 
reaching  Rochester,  when  in  conversation  with  my  travelling 
friend,  I  ventured  to  ask  what  would  be  done  with  Parker, 
should  he  be  taken. 

"I  do  not  know,"  he  replied;  "but  the  laws  of  Pennsyl- 
vania would  not  hang  him,  —  they  might  imprison  him.  But 
it  would  be  different,  very  different,  should  they  get  him  into 
Maryland.  The  people  in  all  the  Slave  States  are  so  pre- 
judiced against  colored  people,  that  they  never  give  them  jus- 
tice. But  I  don't  believe  they  will  get  Parker.  I  think  he  is 
in  Canada  by  this  time ;  at  least,  I  hope  so,  —  for  I  believe 
he  did  right  and,  had  I  been  in  his  place,  I  would  have  done 
as  he  did.  Any  good  citizen  will  say  the  same.  I  believe 


119 

Parker  to  be  a  brave  man ;  and  all  you  colored  people  should 
look  at  it  as  we  white  people  look  at  our  brave  men,  and  do 
as  we  do.  You  see  Parker  was  not  fighting  for  a  country,  nor 
for  praise.  He  was  fighting  for  freedom:  he  only  wanted 
liberty,  as  other  men  do.  You  colored  people  should  protect 
him,  and  remember  him  as  long  as  you  live.  We  are  coming 
near  our  parting-place,  and  I  do  not  know  if  we  shall  ever 
meet  again.  I  shall  be  in  Kochester  some  two  or  three  days 
before  I  return  home ;  and  I  would  like  to  have  your  company 
back." 

I  told  him  it  would  be  some  time  before  we  returned. 

The  cars  then  stopped,  when  he  bade  me  good  by.  As 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  he  did  not  ask  me  my  name ;  and 
I  was  afraid  to  inquire  his,  from  fear  he  would. 

On  leaving  the  cars,  after  walking  two  or  three  squares, 
we  overtook  a  colored  man,  who  conducted  us  to  the  house 
of  a  friend  of  mine.  He  welcomed  me  at  once,  as  we  were 
acquainted  before,  took  me  up  stairs  to  wash  and  comb,  and 
prepare,  as  he  said,  for  company. 

As  I  was  combing,  a  lady  came  up  and  said,  "Which  of 
you  is  Mr.  Parker?" 

"  I  am,"  said  I,  —  "  what  there  is  left  of  me." 

She  gave  me  her  hand,  and  said,  "And  this  is  William 
Parker!" 

She  appeared  to  be  so  excited  that  she  could  not  say  what 
she  wished  to.  We  were  told  we  would  not  get  much  rest, 
and  we  did  not ;  for  visitors  were  constantly  coming.  One 
gentleman  was  surprised  that  we  got  away  from  the  cars,  as 
spies  were  all  about,  and  there  were  two  thousand  dollars  re- 
ward for  the  party. 

We  left  at  eight  o'clock  that  evening,  in  a  carriage,  for 
the  boat,  bound  for  Kingston  in  Canada.  As  we  went  on 
board,  the  bell  was  ringing.  After  walking  about  a  little,  a 
friend  pointed  out  to  me  the  officers  on  the  "  hunt "  for  us ; 
and  just  as  the  boat  pushed  off  from  the  wharf,  some  of  our 


120  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

friends  on  shore  called  me  by  name.  Our  pursuers  looked 
very  much  like  fools,  as  they  were.  I  told  one  of  the  gentle- 
men on  shore  to  write  to  Kline  that  I  was  in  Canada.  Ten 
dollars  were  generously  contributed  by  the  Rochester  friends 
for  our  expenses ;  and  altogether  their  kindness  was  heartfelt, 
and  was  most  gratefully  appreciated  by  us. 

Once  on  the  boat,  and  fairly  out  at  sea  towards  the  land  of 
liberty,  my  mind  became  calm,  and  my  spirits  very  much 
depressed  at  thought  of  my  wife  and  children.  Before,  I  had 
little  time  to  think  much  about  them,  my  mind  being  on  my 
journey.  Now  I  became  silent  and  abstracted.  Although 
fond  of  company,  no  one  was  company  for  me  now. 

We  landed  at  Kingston  on  the  21st  of  September,  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  walked  around  for  a  long  time, 
without  meeting  any  one  we  had  ever  known.  At  last,  how- 
ever, I  saw  a  colored  man  I  knew  in  Maryland.  He  at  first 
pretended  to  have  no  knowledge  of  me,  but  finally  recognized 
me.  I  made  known  our  distressed  condition  when  he  said  he 
was  not  going  home  then,  but,  if  we  would  have  breakfast,  he 
would  pay  for  it.  How  different  the  treatment  received  from 
this  man  —  himself  an  exile  for  the  sake  of  liberty,  and  in  its 
full  enjoyment  on  free  soil  —  and  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 
our  Rochester  colored  brother,  who  made  haste  to  welcome  us 
to  his  ample  home,  —  the  well-earned  reward  of  his  faithful 
labors ! 

On  Monday  evening,  the  23d,  we  started  for  'Toronto, 
where  we  arrived  safely  the  next  day.  Directly  after  landing, 
we  heard  that  Governor  Johnston,  of  Pennsylvania,  had 
made  a  demand  on  the  Governor  of  Canada  for  me,  under  the 
Extradition  Treaty.  Pinckney  and  Johnson  advised  me  to 
go  to  the  country,  and  remain  where  I  should  not  be  known ; 
but  I  refused.  I  intended  to  see  what  they  would  do  with 
me.  Going  at  once  to  the  Government  House,  I  entered  the 
first  office  I  came  to.  The  official  requested  me  to  be  seated. 
The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  conversation  between  us, 


PAEKEE'S  OWN  STOET.  121 

as  near  as  I  can  remember.  I  told  him  I  had  heard  that 
Governor  Johnston,  of  Pennsylvania,  had  requested  his  gov- 
ernment to  send  me  back.  At  this  he  came  forward,  held 
forth  his  hand,  and  said,  "Is  this  Wililam  Parker?" 

I  took  his  hand,  and  assured  him  I  was  the  man.  When  he 
started  to  come,  I  thought  he  was  intending  to  seize  me,  and 
I  prepared  myself  to  knock  him  down.  His  genial  sympa- 
thetic manner  it  was  that  convinced  me  he  meant  well. 

He  made  me  sit  down,  and  said  —  "Yes,  they  want  you 
back  again.  Will  you  go?" 

"I  will  not  be  taken  back  alive,"  said  I.  "I  ran  away 
from  my  master  to  be  free,  —  I  have  run  from  the  United 
States  to  be  free.  I  am  now  going  to  stop  running." 

"  Are  you  a  fugitive  from  labor  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  told  him  I  was. 

"Why,"  he  answered,  "they  say  you  are  a  fugitive  from 
justice."  He  then  asked  me  where  my  master  lived. 

I  told  him,  "  In  Anne  Arundel  County,  Maryland." 

"  Is  there  such  a  county  in  Maryland  ? "  he  asked. 

"  There  is,"  I  answered. 

He  took  down  a  map,  examined  it,  and  said,  "You  are 
right." 

I  then  told  him  the  name  of  the  farm,  and  my  master's 
name.  Further  questions  bearing  upon  the  country  towns 
near,  the  nearest  river,  etc.,  followed,  all  of  which  I  an- 
swered to  his  satisfaction. 

"How  does  it  happen,"  he  then  asked,  "that  you  lived 
in  Pennsylvania  so  long,  and  no  person  knew  you  were  a 
fugitive  from  labor  ? " 

"I  do  not  get  other  people  to  keep  my  secrets,  sir,"  I 
replied.  "My  brother  and  family  only  knew  that  I  had 
been  a  slave." 

He  then  assured  me  that  I  would  not,  in  his  opinion,  have 
to  go  back.  Many  coming  in  at  this  time  on  business,  I  was 
told  to  call  again  at  three  o'clock,  which  I  did.  The  person 


122  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

in  the  office,  a  clerk,  told  me  to  take  no  further  trouble 
about  it,  until  that  day  four  weeks.  "  But  you  are  as  free  a 
man  as  I  am,"  said  he.  When  I  told  the  news  to  Pinckney 
and  Johnson,  they  were  greatly  relieved  in  mind. 

I  ate  breakfast  with  the  greatest  relish,  got  a  letter  written 
to  a  friend  in  Chester  County  for  my  wife,  and  set  about 
arrangements  to  settle  at  or  near  Toronto. 

We  tried  hard  to  get  work,  but  the  task  was  difficult.  I 
think  three  weeks  elapsed  before  we  got  work  that  could  be 
called  work.  Sometimes  we  would  secure  a  small  job,  worth 
two  or  three  shillings,  and  sometimes  a  smaller  one,  worth 
not  more  than  one  shilling;  and  these  not  oftener  than  once 
or  twice  in  a  week.  We  became  greatly  discouraged;  and, 
to  add  to  my  misery,  I  was  constantly  hearing  some  alarm- 
ing report  about  my  wife  and  children.  Sometimes  they 
had  carried  her  back  into  slavery,  —  sometimes  the  children, 
and  sometimes  the  entire  party.  Then  there  would  come  a 
contradiction.  I  was  soon  so  completely  worn  down  by  my 
fears  for  them,  that  I  thought  my  heart  would  break.  To 
add  to  my  disquietude,  no  answer  came  to  my  letters,  although 
I  went  to  the  office  regularly  every  day.  At  last  I  got  a  letter 
with  the  glad  news  that  my  wife  and  children  were  safe,  and 
would  be  sent  to  Canada.  I  told  the  person  reading  for  me 
to  stop,  and  tell  them  to  send  her  "right  now,"  —  I  could 
not  wait  to  hear  the  rest  of  the  letter. 

Two  months  from  the  day  I  landed  in  Toronto,  my  wife 
arrived,  but  without  the  children.  She  had  had  a  very  bad 
time.  Twice  they  had  her  in  custody;  and,  a  third  time, 
her  young  master  came  after  her,  which  obliged  her  to  flee 
before  day,  so  that  the  children  had  to  remain  behind  for  the 
time.  I  was  so  glad  to  see  her  that  I  forgot  about  the 
children. 

The  day  my  wife  came,  I  had  nothing  but  the  clothes  on 
my  back,  and  was  in  debt  for  my  board,  without  any  work 
to  depend  upon.  My  situation  was  truly  distressing.  I  took 


PARKER'S  OWN  STORY.  123 

the  resolution,  and  went  to  a  store  where  I  made  known  my 
circumstances  to  the  proprietor,  offering  to  work  for  him  to 
pay  for  some  necessaries.  He  readily  consented,  and  I  sup- 
plied myself  with  bedding,  meal  and  flour.  As  I  had  selected 
a  place  before,  we  went  that  evening  about  two  miles  into  the 
country,  and  settled  ourselves  for  the  winter. 

When  in  Kingston,  I  had  heard  of  the  Buxton  settlement, 
and  of  the  Eevds.  Dr.  Willis  and  Mr.  King,  the  agents.  My 
informant,  after  stating  all  the  particulars,  induced  me  to 
think  it  was  a  desirable  place ;  and  having  quite  a  little  sum 
of  money  due  to  me  in  the  States,  I  wrote  for  it,  and  waited 
until  May.  It  not  being  sent,  I  called  upon  Dr.  Willis, 
who  treated  me  kindly.  I  proposed  to  settle  in  Elgin,  if  he 
would  loan  means  for  the  first  instalment.  He  said  he 
would  see  about  it,  and  I  should  call  again.  On  my  second 
visit,  he  agreed  to  assist  me,  and  proposed  that  I  should  get 
another  man  to  go  on  a  lot  with  me. 

Abraham  Johnson  and  I  arranged  to  settle  together,  and, 
with  Dr.  Willis's  letter  to  Mr.  King  on  our  behalf,  I  em- 
barked with  my  family  on  a  schooner  for  the  West.  After 
five  days'  sailing,  we  reached  Windsor.  Not  having  the 
means  to  take  us  to  Chatham,  I  called  upon  Henry  Bibb,  and 
laid  my  case  before  him.  He  took  us  in,  treated  us  with 
great  politeness,  and  afterwards  took  me  with  him  to  Detroit, 
where,  after  an  introduction  to  some  friends,  a  purse  of  five 
dollars  was  made  up.  I  divided  the  money  among  my  com- 
panions, and  started  them  for  Chatham,  but  was  obliged  to 
stay  at  Windsor  and  Detroit  two  days  longer. 

While  stopping  at  Windsor,  I  went  again  to  Detroit,  with 
two  or  three  friends,  when,  at  one  of  the  steamboats  just 
landed,  some  officers  arrested  three  fugitives,  on  pretence  of 
being  horse  thieves.  I  was  satisfied  they  were  slaves,  and 
said  so,  when  Henry  Bibb  went  to  the  telegraph  office  and 
learned  through  a  message  that  they  were.  In  the  crowd 
and  excitement,  the  sheriff  threatened  to  imprison  me  for 


124  THE    CHRISTIANA    KIOT. 

my  interference.  I  felt  indignant,  and  told  him  to  do  so, 
whereupon  he  opened  the  door.  About  this  time  there  was 
more  excitement,  and  then  a  man  slipped  into  the  jail,  unseen 
by  the  officers,  opened  the  gate,  and  the  three  prisoners  went 
out,  and  made  their  escape  to  Windsor.  I  stopped  through 
that  night  in  Detroit,  and  started  the  next  day  for  Chatham, 
where  I  found  my  family  snugly  provided  for  at  a  boarding- 
house  kept  by  Mr.  Younge. 

Chatham  was  a  thriving  town  at  that  time,  and  the  genuine 
liberty  enjoyed  by  its  numerous  colored  residents  pleased  me 
greatly;  but  our  destination  was  Buxton,  and  thither  we 
went  on  the  following  day.  We  arrived  there  in  the  evening, 
and  I  called  immediately  upon  Mr.  King,  and  presented  Dr. 
Willis's  letter.  He  received  me  very  politely,  and  said  that, 
after  I  should  feel  rested,  I  could  go  out  and  select  a  lot.  He 
also  kindly  offered  to  give  me  meal  and  pork  for  my  family, 
until  I  could  get  work. 

In  due  time,  Johnson  and  I  each  chose  a  fifty-acre  lot  for 
although  when  in  Toronto  we  agreed  with  Dr.  Willis  to  take 
one  lot  between  us,  when  we  saw  the  land  we  thought  we 
could  pay  for  two  lots.  I  got  the  money  in  a  little  time, 
and  paid  the  Doctor  back.  I  built  a  house,  and  we  moved 
into  it  that  same  fall,  and  in  it  I  live  yet.  (1866.) 

When  I  first  settled  in  Buxton,  the  white  settlers  in  the 
vicinity  were  much  opposed  to  colored  people.  Their  preju- 
dices were  very  strong;  but  the  spread  of  intelligence  and 
religion  in  the  community  has  wrought  a  great  change  in 
them.  Prejudice  is  fast  being  uprooted ;  indeed,  they  do  not 
appear  like  the  same  people  that  they  were.  In  a  short  time 
I  hope  the  foul  spirit  will  depart  entirely. 

I  have  now  to  bring  my  narrative  to  a  close;  and  in  so 
doing  I  would  return  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  the  many 
mercies  and  favors  he  has  bestowed  upon  me,  and  especially 
for  delivering  me  out  of  the  hands  of  slaveholders,  and  plac- 
ing me  in  a  land  of  liberty,  where  I  can  worship  God  under 


PABKER'S  OWN  STOBY.  125 

my  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  with  none  to  molest  or  make  me 
afraid.  I  am  also  particularly  thankful  to  my  old  friends  and 
neighbors  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  —  to  the 
friends  in  Korristown,  Quakertown,  Kochester,  and  Detroit, 
and  to  Dr.  Willis  of  Toronto,  for  their  disinterested  benevo- 
lence and  kindness  to  me  and  my  family.  When  hunted, 
they  sheltered  me;  when  hungry  and  naked,  they  clothed 
and  fed  me;  and  when  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  they 
aided  and  encouraged  me.  May  the  Lord  in  his  great 
mercy  remember  and  bless  them,  as  they  remembered  and 
blessed  me. 


CHAPTEK  XIH. 
AFTEE  THE  WAE. 

Peter  Woods  the  Sole  Survivor  —  Castner  Hanway's  Later  Days — The 
Descendants  and  Eelatives  of  the  Principal  Actors  in  the  Drama  — 
Concluding  Eeflections  on  the  Affair. 

The  sole  survivor  of  those  who  were  directly  involved  in 
the  events  that  have  been  narrated  is  Peter  Woods,  a  very 
respectable  colored  man,  who  does  not  know  his  own  age,  but 
who  likely  is  an  octogenarian  and  was  twenty  years  old  when 
the  riot  occurred.  He  lives  on  his  little  farm  of  fifty-eight 
acres,  in  Colerain  Township,  just  south  of  Bartville,  with  his 
good  wife,  and  the  youngest  of  his  thirteen  living  children, 
the  family  being  much  esteemed  by  those  who  know  its  mem- 
bers. He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  Army,  having  served 
nearly  three  years  in  the  Third  Kegiment,  Colored  IT.  S. 
Infantry.  During  the  war  he  met  Alex.  Pinckney,  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  who  was  also  a  soldier  in  one  of  the  North- 
ern regiments.  Recently  his  pension  was  increased  through 
the  influence  of  Congressman  W.  W.  Griest,  of  the  Lancaster 
district  —  who  is  a  son  of  Major  Ellwood  Griest,  author  of 
the  vigorous  Bart  resolutions  of  1850.  In  the  absence  of 
precise  proof  that  Peter  Woods  was  above  seventy-five  years 
of  age,  the  United  States  Government  assumed  that  it  would 
not  have  indicted  a  boy  of  fifteen  for  treason. 

The  descendants  of  Edward  Gorsuch  maintain  the  high 
social  station  of  their  family  in  Maryland.  They  were 
Methodists  in  religion  and  Whigs  in  politics,  and  are  now 
Republicans;  during  the  civil  war  they  zealously  supported 
the  Union  cause. 

Edward  Gorsuch's  immediate  descendants  are : 
126 


AFTER    THE    WAE. 


127 


(1)  Mrs.   W.   W.    Campbell   and  children,   of   Owing's 
Mills,  Md. 

(2)  Mrs.  T.  B.  Todd  (who  is  a  daughter  of  Mary  Sollers 
and  Alexander  M.   Morrison)    and  her  children,   of  Fort 
Huvord,  Md. 

(3)  Mrs.  E.  M.  Duncan  and  children,  of  Govaus,  Md. ; 
Mrs.  Fannie  Thomas  and  children,  of  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Mrs. 
Wilmer  Black  and  children,  of  Roland  Park,  Md. ;   Miss 
Annie  Black,  of  Baltimore,  Md.  (the  last  four  being  children 
of  Belinda  Gorsuch,  intermarried  with  Robert  Black). 

(4)  Mrs.  R.  F.  Mitchell,  wife  of  Dr.  F.  G.  Mitchell,  of 
Glencoe,  Md.,  and  her  son,  F.  Dorsey,  and  daughters,  Mary 
B.  and  Rebecca  F.,  the  elder  of  whom  appears  as  an  infant 
in  the  arms  of  Mammy  Kelly,  one  of  the  illustrations  of  this 
volume. 

Joseph  Pownall  Scarlet  died  July  8,  1882 ;  his  descendants 
are  as  follows : 

I.  Children  — Joseph  Scarlett,  5313  Master  Street,  Phila- 
delphia; Annie  V.  Scarlett,  Mary  E.  Scarlett,  1413  Peach 
Street,  Philadelphia ;  William  Scarlett,  5444  Girard  Avenue, 
Philadelphia;  Mrs.  Ella  A.  Jackson,  304  North  Franklin 
Street,  West  Chester,  Pa.;  Edwin  Way  Scarlett,   Sr.,  de- 
ceased ;  Sophie  Scarlett  Morell,  deceased. 

II.  Grandchildren  — J.    Ralph    Scarlett,    Inda    Scarlett 
Conrow,  Elsie  J.  Scarlett,  Edwin  W.  Scarlett,  Anne  Scarlett 
Custer,  Dr.  Charles  J.  Morell,  Florence  M.  Christ,  T.  Harold 
Jackson,  William  Scarlett,  Leslie  Scarlett,  Richard  Scarlett. 

III.  Great-grandchildren  —  Lavinia  Scarlett,  Helen  Scar- 
lett, John  S.  Custer,  Charles  J.  Morell,  Jr. 

Elijah  Lewis  died  Oct.  18,  1884,  aged  86;  his  descend- 
ants are  as  follows : 

I.  Children  —  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Cooper,  Palmyra,  !N".  J. 

II.  Grandchildren  —  Samuel  Brinton,  farmer,  West  Ches- 
ter, Pa.,  R.  F.  D. ;  Henry  Brinton,  2408  Bryn  Mawr  Avenue, 
West  Philadelphia;  Edwin  Brinton,  5584  Hunter  Avenue, 


128  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

West  Philadelphia ;  Mrs.  Emma  B.  Maule,  K.  F.  D.,  Coeh- 
ranville,  Pa. ;  Alfred  Brinton,  Christiana,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  Clara 

B.  Maule,  Gum  Tree,  Chester  County,  Pa. ;  Harry  P.  Cooper, 
14  Euby  Street,  Lancaster,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  D.  W.  Miller,  Linfield, 
Montgomery  County,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  Anna  Cooper,  Santa  Bar- 
bara, California;  Mrs.  George  Paschall,  Jr.,  Port  Kennedy, 
Pa.,  and  Miss  Mary  Cooper,  2408  Bryn  Mawr  Avenue,  West 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     (W.  L.  Cooper,  superintendent  of  the 
Bedford  division  P.  R.  R.,  who  recently  met  tragic  death  by 
drowning  in  the  Susquehanna  river,  was  a  grandson.) 

III.  Great  Grandchildren  —  Roy  Cooper,  Fairmount,  W. 
Va. ;  Herbert  Cooper,  Parkesburg,  Pa. ;  Helen  Cooper,  Santa 
Barbara,  Cal. ;  Clement  S.  Brinton,  213  Euclid  Avenue,  Had- 
donfield,  1ST.  J.;  Francis  D.  Brinton,  West  Chester,  Pa.; 
Willard  C.  Brinton,  TO  West  46th  Street,  New  York;  Ellen 
S.  Brinton,  R.  F.  D.,  West  Chester,  Pa. ;  Robert  F.  Brinton, 
R.  F.  D.,  West  Chester,  Pa. ;  Wilfred  Cooper,  Bedford,  Pa. ; 

C.  Burleigh  Cooper,  Christiana,  Pa. ;  Harry  Brinton,  2408 
Bryn   Mawr   Avenue,    Philadelphia,    Pa.;    Lewis  Brinton, 
Octoraro,  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.;  Rev.  Thomas  Brinton,  Octo- 
raro,  Pa. ;  Mrs.  Jesse  Webster,  Mrs.  John  Dochter,  Christiana, 
Pa.,  and  Evan  J.  Lewis,  George  School,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa. 

Castner  Hanway  suffered  most  in  expense  and  anxiety 
from  the  trial.  He  resided  for  years  after  it  ended  in  Chester 
and  Lancaster  Counties,  but  in  1878  removed  to  Wilber, 
Nebraska.  His  first  wife,  Martha,  daughter  of  Jesse  and 
Letitia  Lamborn,  who  was  with  him  during  his  trial,  died 
August  20,  1855.  Later  he  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Moses  and  Mary  Pennock,  who  died  January  1,  1864.  Later 
he  married  a  Miss  Johnston,  a  relative  of  Governor  Johnston, 
who  was  the  Chief  Executive  of  Pennsylvania  in  1851.  She 
is  still  living  in  Milesburg,  Pa.  Hanway  died  May  26, 
1893 ;  his  remains  were  brought  East  and  buried  in  the  ceme- 
tery at  the  famous  Longwood  meeting  house  of  the  Pro- 
gressive Friends,  in  Chester  County,  made  memorable  by 


AFTER    THE    WAB.  129 

anti-slavery  meetings  addressed  by  Whittier,  Lucretia  Mott 
and  others  eminent  in  literature;  in  that  quiet  graveyard 
are  also  the  chaste  tombs  of  Bayard  Taylor,  poet,  novelist, 
traveler,  journalist  and  diplomat,  and  of  his  brother,  Colonel 
Fred.  Taylor,  one  of  the  heroes  and  martyrs  of  Gettysburg. 

The  Longwood  Yearly  Meeting  soon  after  Hanway's  death 
adopted  a  memorial  prepared  by  .Patience  W.  Kent,  which 
said  of  him : 

"  One  week  ago  the  earthly  form  of  Castner  Hanway  was 
laid  in  yonder  cemetery.  A  quiet,  unobtrusive  man,  he  gave 
no  token  that  his  name  was  one  to  conjure  newspaper  noto- 
riety, or  stir  the  wrathful  vengeance  of  the  baffled  slave  power, 
as  it  did  at  one  time.  Yet  in  him,  was  the  stuff  of  which 
heroes  are  made.  '  He  stood  by  his  colors '  when  that  was  all 
he  could  do."  During  the  ninety-seven  days  that  he  was  in 
prison  he  never  once  complained.  He  wrote  to  his  wife  from 
there,  '  I  do  not  regret  my  course ;  I  have  simply  done  my 
duty.'  With  a  nature  capable  of  asserting  such  a  beautiful 
sentiment  in  the  face  of  so  great  mental  and  financial  agony, 
surely  the  reward  in  the  Eternal  Kingdom  would  be :  '  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant ;  thou  hast  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things ; 
enter  thou  into  the  joys  of  thy  Lord.' " 

Hanway  left  no  descendants.  His  collateral  relatives,  so 
far  as  known,  were : 

Samuel  Jackson  Hanway,  deceased,  a  brother,  whose  chil- 
dren are :  Ida  Hanway  Whiteside,  Christiana,  Pa. ;  Ella  Cast- 
ner Hanway  Skelton,  1725  Lindenwood  Street,  Philadelphia ; 
Wilmer  Everett  Hanway,  1716  North  55th  Street,  Philadel- 
phia ;  (Anna  H.  Palmer  JNTewlin  and  Emma  H.  Diffenbaugh, 
both  deceased). 

John  Hanway,  deceased,  a  brother,  leaving  a  son,  Joseph 
M.  Hanway,  Hamorton,  Chester  County,  Pa. ;  two  daughters, 
Mrs.  Keziah  H.  Newlin,  of  Newark,  Delaware,  and  Mrs. 


130  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

Philena  H.  Telo,  906  West  Yth  Street,  Wilmington,  Dela- 
ware; (and  four  deceased  children,  Mrs.  Annie  H.  Martin, 
John  Hanway,  David  Hanway  and  Clark  Hanway). 

Ellis  Hanway,  deceased,  a  brother,  whose  children  are: 
Mrs.  Louise  H.  Booth,  Gap,  Lancaster  County,  Pa. ;  William 
Hanway,  1038  Lowell  Street,  New  York  City,  N.  Y. ;  Mary 
Hanway,  and  Mrs.  Julie  H.  Powers;  (and  deceased  children, 
Samuel  and  Sarah  Hanway). 

Washington  Hanway,  deceased,  a  brother,  leaving  one  child, 
Mrs.  Clara  Hanway  Pierce,  31 Y  South  Queen  Street,  York,  Pa. 

Phoebe  H.  Gray,  deceased,  a  sister,  whose  children  are: 
Washington  Gray  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Frame,  deceased,  and 
Albert  Gray. 

Hannah  Ellis  H.  Fairlamb,  deceased,  a  sister,  who  left 
children:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Barnes,  West  Chester,  Pa.,  and 
Kobert  Fairlamb,  Coatesville,  Pa. 

Rebecca  H.  McDade,  deceased,  a  sister,  late  of  Norristown, 
Pa.,  whose  children  are:  Phebe  H.,  Mary  Ellen,  Elizabeth, 
Sarah,  James,  William,  Daniel,  Samuel,  Ferdinand,  Wash- 
ington and  John  McDade. 


"  After  Life's  fitful  fever  "  they  who  fought  and  suffered 
and  died  all  "  sleep  well."  "  There  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor 
knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in  the  grave."  While  governments 
shall  endure  and  organized  society  of  human  order  shall  con- 
tinue, the  ceaseless  contest  will  go  on  between  Law  and  Lib- 
erty. As  the  temperaments  of  men  vary  they  will  differ 
as  to  which  side  of  that  struggle  they  should  or  will  espouse ; 
and  Human  Wisdom  will  forever  be  insufficient  to  avert 
occasional  conflict.  From  it,  however,  will  emerge  Peace; 
and  as  the  parties  to  the  struggle  and  their  children's  children 
look  back  upon  the  contention  that  once  raged,  they  will  come 
more  and  more  clearly  to  see  that  it  was  inevitable ;  and  they 


AFTEB    THE    WAR.  131 

will  look  with  kindlier  judgment  upon  the  motives  which  in- 
spired antagonistic  forces.  They  will  also  see  in  the  outcome 
and  settlement  a  Final  Cause,  shaping  events  and  determin- 
ing results,  one  that  could  not  be  recognized  in  the  smoke  and 
dust  of  the  immediate  battle ;  but  which  the  clear,  cold  light  of 
History  makes  visible  to  all  who  would  see  the  Truth.  In 
his  matchless  lyric  of  the  Civil  War,  the  most  sublime  note 
that  has  been  sounded  from  all  the  literature  inspired  by  that 
great  National  Crisis,  Will  M.  Thompson,  in  his  "  High  Tide 
at  Gettysburg,"  attains  this  lofty  strain : 

But  who  shall  break  the  guards  that  wait 
Before  the  awful  face  of  fate? 

The  tattered  standards  of  the  South 

Were  shriveled  at  the  cannon's  mouth, 
And  all  her  hopes  were  desolate. 

In  vain  the  Tennessean  set 

His  breast  against  the  bayonet; 

In  vain  Virginia  charged  and  raged, 

A  tigress  in  her  wrath  uncaged, 
Till  all  the  hill  was  red  and  wet ! 

Above  the  bayonets  mixed  and  crossed 
Men  saw  a  gray,  gigantic  ghost 

Eeceding  through  the  battle  cloud, 

And  heard  across  the  tempest  loud 
The  death  cry  of  a  nation  lost! 
The  brave  went  down!  Without  disgrace 
They  leaped  to  ruin's  red  embrace; 

They  only  heard  fame's  thunder  wake, 

And  saw  the  dazzling  sunburst  break 
In  smiles  on  Glory's  bloody  face! 

They  fell  who  lifted  up  a  hand! 
And  bade  the  sun  in  heaven  to  stand; 

They  smote  and  fell  who  set  the  bars 

Against  the  progress  of  the  stars, 
And  stayed  the  march  of  Motherland! 

They  stood  who  saw  the  future  come 
On  through  the  fight's  delirium; 

They  smote  and  stood  who  held  the  hope 

Of  nations  on  that  slippery  slope, 
Amid  the  cheers  of  Christendom! 


132  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

God  lives!     He  forged  the  iron  will, 
That  clutched  and  held  that  trembling  hill! 
God  lives  and  reigns!    He  built  and  lent 
The  heights  for  Freedom's  battlement, 
Where  floats  her  flag  in  triumph  still! 

Fold  up  the  banners!     Smelt  the  guns! 

Love  rules.     Her  gentler  purpose  runs, 
A  mighty  mother  turns  in  tears 
The  pages  of  her  battle  years, 

Lamenting  all  her  fallen  sons! 


PKEFACE  TO  REVISED  EDITION. 

The  successful  popular  and  historical  celebration  at  Chris- 
tiana, on  September  9,  1911,  of  the  events  narrated  in  this 
sketch,  gave  its  author  an  opportunity  to  correct,  revise  and 
enlarge  the  foregoing  text — which  had  to  be  put  to  press  hur- 
riedly in  its  original  form.  Every  amendment  responsibly 
suggested  has  been  made.  Many  other  new  facts  elicited 
are  included  in  these  "Addenda";  and  likewise  numerous 
timely  recollections  that  the  casual  student  of  history  might 
miss. 

Some  account  of  the  Commemoration  exercises  seemed  to 
be  altogether  fit  for  preservation  in  permanent  form.  I 
have,  therefore,  appended  this. 

While  the  entire  volume  may  not  have  enough  contem- 
porary interest  to  justify  this  amplification  of  its  original 
publication,  I  am  hopeful  that  the  future  historian  of  Lan- 
caster County  will  find  this  contribution  not  wholly  without 
helpful  value  in  his  work. 

W.  U.  H. 

October  7,  1911. 


133 


ADDENDA. 

NOTE  A. 

On  page  14  it  is  stated  that  there  was  little  fellowship  between  the 
negro  and  the  Pennsylvania-German  elements  of  our  local  citizenship. 
I  believe  this  is  a  continuing  condition.  It  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
historical  fact  that  the  Mennonites  of  Germantown  were  the  first 
American  Abolitionists;  and  that  their  deliverance  of  February  18, 
1688,  antedated  like  action  by  the  Friends.  Professor  Wilkinson  in  his 
so-called  "Vindication  of  Daniel  Webster,"  recently  published,  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  Charles  Sumner's  social  aversion  to 
the  colored  race  was  as  pronounced  as  his  political  sympathy  with  it. 

NOTE  B. 

On  page  27  it  is  said  upon  information  that  William  Parker  was  a 
soldier  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  I  have  not  been  able  to  absolutely 
verify  this  statement.  It  is  therefore  qualified. 

NOTE  C. 

On  page  59  it  is  noticed  that  the  venire  issued  to  the  marshal  com- 
manding him  to  return  108  jurors  for  the  term  of  the  treason  trial 
included  a  provision  that  at  least  twelve  were  to  be  summoned  and  re- 
turned from  Lancaster  County.  This  was  in  conformity  with  the  Act  of 
September  24, 1789,  known  as  the  Federal  Judicial  Procedure  Act,  to  the 
effect  that  "in  cases  punishable  with  death,  the  trial  shall  be  had  in 
the  county  where  the  offense  was  committed,  or  where  that  cannot  be 
done  without  great  inconvenience,  twelve  petit  jurors  at  least  shall  be 
summoned  from  thence."  Why  116  were  summoned  and  returned,  when 
the  venire  called  for  108,  does  not  appear. 

In  a  recent  notable  address  before  the  American  Bar  Association  at 
Boston  on  August  30,  1911,  Ex-Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  Henry  E.  Brown  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  provision  of 
this  act  which  required  the  trial  for  a  capital  offense  to  be  held  in  the 
county  where  it  occurred  had  never  been  observed.  It  seems  to  have 
escaped  his  notice  that  the  statutory  direction  as  to  the  venue  was  not 
unqualifiedly  imperative  and  that  this  act  had  been  the  subject  of 
repeated  judicial  construction,  e.  g.,  in  the  following  cases: 

' '  The  Circuit  Courts  are  bound  to  try  all  crimes  committed  within  the 
district,  but  not  to  try  them  in  the  County  where  committed;  that  is  a 
matter  of  which  they  must  judge  in  the  exercise  of  their  discretion." 
U.  S.  v.  Wilson,  Bald.  117;  U.  S.  v.  Cornell  2  Mason  95-8;  U.  S.  v. 

135 


136 


THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 


Insurgents  (Fries),  3  Dall.  (Pa.)  513.  In  TJ.  S.  v.  Cornell  the  Court 
holds  that  the  third  Section  of  the  Act  of  March,  1793,  Chapter  22, 
operates  as  a  material  modification  of  the  Act  of  1789  and  leaves  the 
place  of  the  trial  in  the  district  to  the  sound  discretion  of  the  judge. 
The  Act  of  1793,  Chapter  22,  directs  that  special  sessions  for  the  trial 
of  criminal  cases  shall  be  held  at  any  convenient  place  within  the 
district  nearer  to  the  place  where  the  offenses  may  be  said  to  be  com- 
mitted, than  the  place  appointed  by  the  law  for  ordinary  sessions. 

NOTE  D. 

I  have  adopted  the  spelling  of  Sims's  and  Scarlet's  name  with  a 
single  terminal  letter  instead  of  the  local  and  family  usage — Simms  and 
Scarlett — because  they  were  thus  formally  indicted. 

NOTE  E. 

The  best  information  I  have  as  to  the  date  of  William  Parker 's  revisit 
to  Christiana  is  that  it  was  during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1872. 
Peter  Woods  says  he  took  back  with  him  to  Canada  the  widow  of  Henry 
Sims — one  of  the  defendants  in  the  treason  case;  presumably  he  was 
then  a  widower  and  Mrs.  Sims  became  his  second  wife. 

NOTE  F. 

On  pages  6  and  12  I  have  recalled  the  indisputable  fact  that  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  his  party  distinctly  recognized  the  legal  obligation  of  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  even  after  the  war  had  begun.  Striking  confirmation 
of  what  heedless  readers  may  be  disposed  to  doubt  is  found  in  General 
William  T.  Sherman's  " Causes  of  the  War,"  cited  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly,  for  September,  1911,  where  Sherman  says:  "Mr.  Lincoln  after 
election  and  installation,  asserted  repeatedly  that  slavery  was  safe  in 
his  hands,  that  he  was  sworn  to  enforce  even  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
and  soon  Congress  declared  it  had  no  intention  to  interfere  with  slavery 
in  the  States." 

NOTE  G. 

Peter  Smith,  a  stalwart  and  sturdy  man  of  82,  now  resident  of  Terre 
Hill,  Lancaster  County,  who  came  from  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  when  he 
was  a  lad  of  ten,  tells  me  he  was  bar-keeper  at  Fred  Zercher's  tavern, 
in  Christiana  (now  Harrar's  store),  when  Edward  Gorsuch's  mangled 
body  was  brought  there  (see  p.  37)  and  the  inquest  was  held.  The  rail- 
road track  then  ran  in  there,  east  of  where  the  monument  has  been  erected, 
and  the  "bend"  toward  Philadelphia  was  extremely  sharp.  Mr.  Smith 
also  recalls  that  the  railroad  work  on  which  the  Irish  laborers  were  then 
engaged  (p.  31)  was  the  radical  re-location  of  the  line,  close  to  the  mill- 
pond  and  around  the  sharp  turn  known  as  "North  Bend."  It  is  a 
notable  coincidence  that  at  the  time  of  the  Commemoration,  sixty  years 


ADDENDA.  137 

later,  the  great  railroad  improvement  of  the  Subway  construction  was 
nearing  completion  in  Christiana. 

The  same  informant  tells  me  that  nearly  all  of  the  forty  Irish  workmen 
were  deputized  as  United  States  marshals  to  hunt  scattering  negroes  of 
the  neighborhood;  one  of  them,  being  handed  a  horse  pistol,  declared 
that  he  would  shoot  ' '  the  first  black  thing ' '  he  saw,  even  if  it  was  a  cow. 

NOTE  H. 

Francis  M.  Lennox,  one  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  Bart  township,  and 
long-time  a  schoolmaster  in  that  neighborhood,  was  boarding  at  Mifflin 
Parker's  near  the  scene  of  the  riot.  He  says  that  he  was  an  eye-witness 
to  its  events,  and  his  account  of  the  same  was  published  in  the  Lancaster 
"  Examiner  "  of  September  8,  1911.  It  follows  very  closely  the  narra- 
tive of  Parker  and,  in  some  features,  is  almost  a  literal  transcript  of  the 
same.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Parker's  story  was 
published  in  1866;  or  that  Mr.  Lennox  says  he  was  in  "hiding"  during 
the  battle;  and  of  course  he  himself  did  not  hear  the  dialogue  he  relates 
between  Parker  and  Gorsuch.  He  says:  "  Caleb  Hood's  two  colored 
men  came  past  where  I  was  hiding;  one  had  a  gun,  the  other  a  corn 
cutter;  then  Joseph  Scarlet  came  after  them  on  horseback;  half  a  dozen 
came  on  foot;  each  carried  something.  I  knew  the  most  of  them,  as  I 
had  lived  in  the  valley  nearly  two  years  at  that  time."  .  .  .  "As  the 
writer  of  this  article  was  going  to  his  school  the  morning  of  the  fight 
he  met  a  hatless  man  near  the  mill  who  inquired  the  way  to  'Christeen' 
(Christiana  he  meant).  I  directed  him.  I  learned  afterward  it  was 
Kline.  On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  I  was  at  the  Ked  Lion  Hotel; 
there  were  a  number  of  United  States  marines;  I  asked  one  what  they 
were  doing  here;  he  said,  'We  are  going  to  arrest  every  nigger  and 

d d  abolitionist.'    A  man  across  the  way  said  'here  is  a  man  that 

knows  all  about  it.'  I  walked  away.  Sure  enough  they  scoured  the 
country  for  miles  around,  arresting  every  colored  man,  boy  and  girl  that 
they  could  find." 

NOTE  I. 

Dr.  H.  McGowan,  of  Harrisburg,  was  a  lad  at  the  time  of  the  riot, 
living  on  the  next  farm  west  of  Pownall's,  and  from  his  father's  home 
the  movements  of  the  combatants  were  discernible.  He  says  Hanway 
was  so  persistent  in  his  attempts  to  check  the  negroes  and  protect  the 
Gorsuches  that  the  colored  men  assailed  and  even  shot  at  him.  Dr. 
McGowan  was  not  a  witness  at  the  trial,  nor  was  any  such  evidence 
offered.  I  think  he  has  confused  the  attack  upon  Dr.  Pearce,  who  was 
sheltering  himself  behind  Hanway 's  horse,  with  his  own  version  of  the 
affair.  The  fugitives  were  not  hostile  to  Hanway;  they  at  least  recog- 
nized him  as  a  friend. 


138 


THE    CHKISTIANA    EIOT. 


NOTE  J. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Pownall  Steele,  wife  of  George  Steele,  whose  own  recol- 
lections are  cited  on  page  36,  died  in  December,  1907,  aged  83.  Her 
reminiscences  of  the  event  were  very  clear  and  accorded  with  her  hus- 
band's. She  related  that  Parker  and  Pinckney  were  very  reluctant  to 
leave  for  Canada  and  could  scarcely  be  made  to  realize  their  danger. 
When  they  left  they  were  disguised  in  top  hats  and  other  dress  which 
might  cause  them  to  be  mistaken  for  callers  at  the  Pownall  household. 
Dickinson  Gorsuch  at  that  time  was  supposed  to  be  dying  and  the  Pow- 
nall premises  were  occupied  by  a  horde  of  deputies  on  the  lookout  for 
all  suspects.  Extended  memoranda  in  pencil  preserved  in  the  Pownall 
family  indicate  that  some  member  of  it  was  active  in  preparing  the  evi- 
dence for  the  defense  at  the  trials.  Besides  other  interesting  details 
this  brief  shows  many  witnesses  examined  to  prove  different  phases  of 
the  case,  such  as  alibis  for  some  prisoners,  the  neighborhood  kidnap- 
pings, the  movements  of  Parker,  Pinckney  and  Johnson  (who  all  lived 
together  in  the  Pownall  tenant  house),  the  good  character  of  some  of 
the  accused  and  the  identity  of  "John  Beard"  with  Nelson  Ford,  one 
of  the  Gorsuch  runaways. 

From  this  same  memorandum  it  appears  that  the  night  Henry  Williams 
was  kidnapped  he  was  knocked  down,  tied  with  a  bed  cord,  carried  off 
in  a  dearborn  belonging  to  Bill  Baer,  drawn  by  a  gray  and  sorrel  horse, 
and  the  route  taken  by  his  captors  was  via  Nickel  Mines  and  the  Green 
Tree. 

NOTB  K. 

The  Philadelphia  Ledger  says  that  [Charles]  Burleigh,  the  Abolition 
lecturer,  appeared  at  Christiana  about  the  time  the  first  prisoners  were 
brought  in,  but  he  soon  left.  I  find  no  other  mention  of  this  personal 
incident;  nor  does  any  surviving  witness  recall  it. 

NOTE  L. 

It  may  seem  peculiar  that  on  p.  73  in  giving  the  personal  character- 
istics of  the  jury  their  individual  and  average  weight  should  be  noticed. 
It  appears,  however,  from  a  letter  of  James  Cowden,  the  youngest  of 
them,  to  his  wife  that  they  found  some  diversion  in  these  statistics. 
Moreover  it  is  not  unlikely  that,  in  the  discriminating  selection  of  the 
panel  to  try,  shrewd  counsel  for  the  prisoners  kept  in  mind  the  classic 
aphorism  in  favor  of  "men  that  are  fat,  that  sleep  o'  nights." 

NOTE  M. 

I.  On  page  97  reference  is  made  to  the  killing  of  Kennedy  in  Carlisle 
by  a  "fugitive  slave"  mob.  That  event  happened  before  the  passage 
of  the  Act  of  1850.  In  June,  1847,  James  Kennedy,  of  Hagerstown, 
Md.,  went  to  Carlisle  to  recover  runaway  slaves.  They  were  arrested 


ADDENDA.  139 

and  the  Court  remanded  the  fugitives  to  Mr.  Kennedy.  Immediately 
upon  this  decision  being  made  a  riot  ensued  in  the  courtroom  for  the 
rescue  of  the  prisoners.  The  judge  seized  a  club  and  attempted  to  defend 
Mr.  Kennedy,  but  the  latter  was  mortally  wounded.  This  riot  was  almost 
exclusively  among  the  negroes.  Of  the  white  people  who  gathered  few 
took  part.  After  Kennedy's  death  there  was  a  public  meeting  in  Car- 
lisle in  which  the  action  of  the  mob  was  denounced  as  a  disgrace  and 
Mr.  Kennedy  was  extolled  as  a  citizen  ''whose  whole  life  was  an  orna- 
ment and  whose  character  was  a  valuable  example  of  a  good  man." 

II.  In  1855  there  was  a  suit  in  the  Superior  Court  of  Baltimore  against 
the  Northern  Central  Eailway  for  aiding  in  the  escape  of  two  fugitive 
slaves.     One  of  them  belonged  to  Abraham  Getzendanner  and  the  other 
to  George  M.  Potts,  both  of  Frederick,  Md.     They  made  their  way  to 
York,  Pa.,  and  there  boarded  a  train  on  the  Northern   Central  road. 
The  conductor  was  warned  that  they  were  fugitive  slaves,  but  he  per- 
mitted them  to  remain  on  the  train,  and  they  were  carried  beyond  the 
reach  of  recovery.     Getzendanner  got  a  judgment  for  $123  and  Potts 
one  for  $813.40. 

III.  An  interesting  case  in  the  early  fifties  dragged  at  considerable 
length  through  the  local  and  Supreme  Courts  of  Pennsylvania,  and  finally 
reached  the  U.   S.  District  Court  at  Philadelphia,  involving  a  similar 
question.     About  a  score  of  slaves  belonging  to  a  widow  in  Maryland 
found  refuge  on  the  property  of  a  man  named  Kauffman,  in  Cumberland 
County,  Pa.,  who  relieved  their  hunger  and  destitution  with  food  sup- 
plies, after  which  they  disappeared  from  the  neighborhood.     Their  owner 
sued  Kauffman  for  some  $20,000  damages  for  facilitating  their  escape. 
There  was  a  recovery  in  the  State  Courts  for  less  than  a  tenth  of  the 
claim,  but  the  Supreme  Court  held  that  the  case  was  one  for  Federal 
jurisdiction.     On   the   first   trial   in   the   District    Court   of   the   United 
States,  at  Philadelphia,  the  jury  disagreed.     On  the  second  trial  ex- Vice- 
President  George  M.  Dallas  and  David  Paul  Brown  were  of  counsel  for 
the  respective  parties.     On  the  first  vote  the  jury  divided  according  to 
their   partisan   feelings — five   Democrats   were   for   allowing   the   whole 
claim,  four  Whigs  were  for  allowing  nothing,  three  Free  Soil  Democrats 
were  for  a  compromise  verdict  for  about  the  same  amount  that  had  been 
recovered  in  the  State  Court.     After  a  delay  of  three  weeks  in  reaching 
a  verdict  the  jury  finally  compromised  by  accepting  the  proposition  of 
its  Whig  members  to  give  the  plaintiff  a  very  moderate  verdict.     The 
expenses  of  the  litigation,  however,  practically  absorbed  all  that  was 
awarded  to  the  plaintiff;   and,  inconsiderable  as  the  verdict  was,  the 
litigation  well-nigh  ruined  Kauffman;  he  was  represented  also  by  Thad- 
deus  Stevens  in  some  stages  of  it. 

NOTE  N. 

With  the  characteristic  literary  and  historical  thrift  of  his  part  of  the 
country  that  most  accurate,  genial  and  liberal  of  New  England  writers, 


140  THE    CHRISTIANA    BIOT. 

the  accomplished  Colonel  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  lately  deceased, 
in  his  "Cheerful  Yesterdays,"  published  in  The  Atlantic  Monthly  (and 
wisely  republished  in  permanent  book  form,  1899),  fell  into  the  easy 
error  of  recording  that  the  death  of  a  United  States  marshal's  deputy, 
named  Batchelder,  in  one  of  the  Faneuil  Hall  anti-slavery  riots  in  1854 
was  the  "first  drop  of  blood  actually  shed"  in  resistance  to  or  enforce- 
ment of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Unwilling  to  have  the  history  of  Penn- 
sylvania forever  written — or  unwritten — by  New  Englanders,  I  challenged 
the  distinguished  historian's  accuracy  and  called  his  attention  to  the 
"  Christiana  riot."  In  reply  I  had  the  following  letter: 

GLIMPSEWOOD,  DUBLIN,  N.  H.,  Sept.  3,  1899. 
Dear  Sir: 

Thank  you  for  your  note,  calling  attention  to  an  undoubted  error  in 
my  "Cheerful  Yesterdays."  What  I  must  have  meant  to  say  was  that 
the  killing  of  Batchelder  was  the  first  shedding  of  official  blood  so  to 
speak,  t.  e.,  that  of  a  United  States  officer.  As  I  remember,  the  persons 
killed  at  Christiana  were  the  slaveholder  himself  &  his  son,  which  put 
the  matter  more  on  the  basis  of  self-defense  as  between  claimant  &  slave ; 
whereas  the  death  of  Batchelder  was  that  of  an  United  States  officer. 
I  have  not  access  to  books  here,  but  on  my  return  to  Cambridge,  will 
make  the  needed  correction  in  the  plates  of  "Cheerful  Yesterdays." 

Very  truly  yours, 

T.  W.  HIGGINSON. 
To  W.  U.  Hensel,  Esq. 

NOTE  O. 

Columbia,  Lancaster  County,  has  for  a  century  had  a  larger  proportion 
of  colored  population  than  any  other  section  of  the  County.  This  originated 
in  the  settlement  there  in  1816  of  some  three  score  slaves  manumitted  by  the 
will  of  Israel  Bacon,  of  Henrico  County,  Virginia.  They  started  by  wagon 
for  Canada,  but  stranded  at  Columbia,  where  sections  of  land  were  given 
them  to  build  their  cabins,  some  of  which  still  remain.  Their  settlement 
was  greatly  augmented  in  1818,  when  another  hundred  freed  slaves 
from  Hanover  County,  Maryland,  joined  them.  The  cheap  labor  thus 
attracted  was  welcomed  by  the  lumber  and  other  industrial  interests 
then  flourishing  at  this  point.  Fugitive  slaves  later  quite  naturally 
drifted  hither;  and  Samuel  Evans,  historian,  has  grouped  in  his  history 
of  slavery  in  Lancaster  County  (Evarts  &  Peek,  1883)  many  romantic 
incidents  of  flight,  pursuit,  resistance,  capture  and  escape.  The  most 
notable  of  these  occurred  soon  after  the  "Treason  Trials."  William 
Smith,  an  escaped  slave  of  George  W.  Hall,  of  Harford  County,  Mary- 
land, found  refuge  in  Columbia  and  work  in  a  lumber  yard  there.  His 
master  deputized  Albert  G.  Eidgely  to  arrest  him,  accompanied  by  a 
one-armed  Federal  marshal  named  Snyder,  from  Baltimore.  In  an 
encounter  that  ensued  April  30,  1852,  Eidgely  shot  Smith  dead,  fled 


ADDENDA.  141 

across  the  Susquehanna  bridge  to  Wrightsville  and  escaped  to  Maryland, 
without  arrest.  Governor  Lowe,  of  Maryland,  appointed  Otho  Scott  and 
James  M.  Buchanan  commissioners  to  inquire  into  the  facts.  They  took 
testimony  privately  at  Parson's  "Sorrel  Horse"  hotel;  after  their  report 
Bigler,  now  become  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  by  the  election  of  1851, 
refused  to  grant  a  requisition  for  Eidgely's  extradition  to  Lancaster 
County,  and  he  was  never  tried  for  killing  Smith. 

NOTE  P. 

In  the  hot  political  discussions  that  were  continuously  waged  over 
slavery  between  contending  partisans  in  lower  Lancaster  County,  it  was 
a  common  taunt  of  the  Scotch-Irish  Democrats  that  the  Abolition 
Quakers  harbored  the  fugitive  negroes  for  gainful  purposes;  and  that 
after  they  had  profited  from  their  cheap  labor  in  the  busy  summer  and 
fall  days  of  farm  work,  and  when  the  dull  and  frosty  months  drew  nigh, 
the  thrifty  Friends  would  get  rid  of  profitless  boarders  by  raising  a  hue 
and  cry  "the  kidnappers  are  coming! " 


IN  PRISON  FOR  TREASON. 

[One  of  the  finest  stanzas  in  American  poetry  was  inspired  by  the 
imprisonment  of  Hanway  and  others  for  treason.  While  they  were  in 
Moyamensing,  John  G.  Whittier  wrote  and  published  his  "Lines"  to 
them.  Horace  E.  Scudder,  in  his  excellent  and  complete  "Cambridge 
edition"  of  Whittier,  classes  the  following  with  three  other  poems, 
"called  out  by  the  popular  movement  of  Free  State  men  to  occupy  the 
territory  of  Kansas. ' '  In  this  he  is  mistaken.  This  poem,  now  entitled 
"For  Eighteousness '  Sake,"  was  originally  "inscribed  to  Friends  under 
arrest  for  treason  against  the  slave  power,"  and  was  directed  especially 
to  Hanway,  Lewis  and  Scarlet.  The  concluding  stanza  is  deeply  imbedded 
in  popular  appreciation  of  the  best  in  our  national  literature.] 

The  age  is  dull  and  mean.    Men  creep, 
Not  walk;  with  blood  too  pale  and  tame 
To  pay  the  debt  they  owe  to  shame; 

Buy  cheap,  sell  dear;  eat,  drink,  and  sleep 
Down -pillowed,  deaf  to  moaning  want; 

Pay  tithes  for  soul-insurance;  keep 
Six  days  to  Mammon,  one  to  Cant. 

In  such  a  time,  give  thanks  to  God, 

That  somewhat  of  the  holy  rage 

With  which  the  prophets  in  their  age 
On  all  its  decent  seemings  trod, 

Has  set  your  feet  upon  the  lie, 
That  man  and  ox  and  soul  and  clod 

Are  market  stock  to  sell  and  buy! 

The  hot  words  from  your  lips,  my  own, 

To  caution  trained,  might  not  repeat; 

But  if  some  tares  among  the  wheat 
Of  generous  thought  and  deed  were  sown, 

No  common  wrong  provoked  your  zeal; 
The  silken  gauntlet  that  is  thrown 

In  such  a  quarrel  rings  like  steel. 

The  brave  old  strife  the  fathers  saw 

For  Freedom  calls  for  men  again 

Like  those  who  battled  not  in  vain 
For  England's  Charter,  Alfred's  law; 
142 


AFTEE    SIXTY    YEABS  143 

And  right  of  speech  and  trial  just 
Wage  in  your  name  their  ancient  war 
With  venal  courts  and  perjured  trust. 


God's  ways  seem  dark,  but  soon  or  late, 

They  touch  the  shining  hills  of  day; 

The  evil  cannot  brook  delay. 
The  good  can  well  afford  to  wait. 

Give  ermined  knaves  their  hour  of  crime; 
Te  have  the  future  grand  and  great, 

The  safe  appeal  of  Truth  to  Time! 


SIXTY  YEAES  AFTER 

"THE   CHRISTIANA   RIOT." 

1851.  1911. 

Out  of  the  strident  clash  of  hopes  and  fears 
The  times  have  builded  music;  where  of  late 
Passion  strode  fierce,  and  wrath  and  white-lipped  hate 
Met  bitterly  in  agony  and  tears, 
Meet  we  in  kindness.     Cancelled  are  arrears 
Of  debt  and  credit.     It  were  ill  to  prate 
Of  right  and  wrongs;  may  we  commemorate 
More  than  the  feuds  of  the  forgotten  years. 

Great  God!  which  one  of  us  shall  cast  a  stone 
At  bygone  riotf    Have  we,  too,  not  set 
Our  hands  against  thy  lawsf    Is  nought  our  own 
That  cries  for  pardon!    Are  no  tear  drops  wetf 
.  Judge  of  the  Nations  grant  us  to  atone — 
And  of  Thy  mercy  teach  us  to  forget. 

— F.  Lyman  Windolph. 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  Sept.  9,  1911. 


"THE   CHRISTIANA  RIOT." 

'Twas  here  that  first  was  heard  the  thrilling  cry 
Which  pealed  the  knell  of  bondage  thro'  the  land; 

'Twas  here  that  first  our  people  took  the  stand 
Which  cleansed  us  from  the  guilt  of  slavery — 

Ye  call  it  Riot!     Lo!  it  made  men  free! 


144  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

It  was  a  trumpet  call,  clear,  loud  and  grand, 

And  in  good  time,  obeying  its  command, 
We  heard  our  Union  speak  for  Liberty. 

Here  slavery  first  died.    The  blood  shed  here 

Destroyed  the  chains  of  every  trembling  slave; 
It  bound  the  Nation  with  a  link  more  dear 

And  took  from  us  a  stigma  dark  and  grave. 
So  thus  we  mark  this  fair  September  morn, 

Where  bondage  perished,  and  free  men  were  born! 

— Mary  N.  Eobinson. 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  1911. 


POLITICAL   CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  LETTERS  WHICH  PASSED  BETWEEN  LEADING  DEMO- 
CEATS  OF  PHILADELPHIA  AND  GOVERNOR  JOHNSTON. 

Reference  is  made  on  page  50  to  the  issue  injected  into 
the  political  campaign  of  1851  by  the  Christiana  occurrence. 
The  rather  sensational  character  of  this  episode  and  its  results 
justify  the  preservation  here  in  permanent  and  accessible 
form  of  the  correspondence.  The  informal  call  for  a  popu- 
lar meeting  in  Independence  Square,  Philadelphia,  declared 
the  purpose  "of  taking  high  and  effectual  action  to  prevent 
the  recurrence  of  so  terrible  a  scene  upon  the  soil  of  Penn- 
sylvania, to  ferret  out  and  punish  the  murderers  thus  guilty 
of  the  double  crime  of  assaulting  the  Constitution,  and  of 
taking  the  lives  of  men  in  pursuit  of  their  recognized  and 
rightful  property,  as  well  as  to  take  preparatory  steps  for  the 
protection  of  our  own  rights  and  the  rights  of  our  children, 
under  the  Federal  Constitution,  daily  imperilled  and  as- 
sailed by  a  race,  who  can  never  be  our  social  or  political 
equals,  and  the  prevention  of  whose  future  emigration  within 
our  borders  is  the  only  guarantee  we  have  to  render  power- 
less the  efforts  of  the  vigilant  enemies  of  the  Republic." 

AN  ADDRESS  TO  THE  GOVERNOR. 

The  following  "open  letter  "was  addressed  by  many  promi- 
nent Philadelphia  Democrats  of  that  day,  John  Cadwallader, 
John  Swift,  John  W.  Forney,  R.  Simpson,  Charles  Inger- 
soll,  James  Page,  A.  L.  Roumfort,  and  others: 

To  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania: 

The  undersigned  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  respectfully  represent: 
That  citizens  of  a  neighboring  State  have  been  cruelly  assassinated  by 

a  band  of  armed  outlaws  at  a  place  not  more  than  three  hours  journey 

distant  from  the  seat  of  government  and  from  the  Commercial  metropolis 

of  the  State. 

10  145 


146  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

That  this  insurrectionary  movement  in  one  of  the  most  populous  parts 
of  the  State  has  been  so  far  successful  as  to  overawe  the  local  ministers 
of  justice  and  paralyze  the  power  of  the  law. 

That  your  memorialists  are  not  aware  that  any  military  force  has  been 
sent  to  the  scene  of  the  insurrection,  or  that  the  civil  authority  has  been 
strengthened  by  the  adoption  of  any  measures  suited  to  the  momentous 
crisis. 

They,  therefore,  respectfully  request  the  Executive  Magistrate  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  take  into  consideration  the  necessity  of  vindicating  the  out- 
raged dignity  of  the  Commonwealth  on  this  important  and  melancholy 
occasion. 

GOVERNOR  JOHNSTON'S  REPLY  TO  THE  "APPEAL." 
Governor  Johnston  replied  in  the  following  manner : 

Gentlemen:  Your  letter,  without  date,  was  this  afternoon  put  in  my 
hands  by  one  of  the  servants  of  the  hotel.  The  anxiety  which  you 
manifest  to  maintain  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  the  public  peace,  is  fully 
appreciated,  and  I  have  great  pleasure  to  inform  you  that,  more  than 
two  hours  before  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  the  parties  implicated  have 
been,  through  the  vigilance  and  decision  of  the  local  authorities,  ar- 
rested, and  are  now  in  prison,  awaiting  an  inquiry  into  their  reported 
guilt.  The  District  Attorney  and  Sheriff  of  Lancaster  County,  acting  in 
consort  with  the  Attorney  General  of  the  State,  deserve  especial  thanks 
for  their  prompt  and  energetic  conduct.  This  was  all  done  early  on 
Saturday  morning,  and  duly  reported  to  me  by  the  local  officers. 

The  testimony  taken  by  the  United  States  Commissioner,  who  arrived 
at  a  later  period  on  the  grounds,  a  printed  copy  of  which  has  accidentally 
reached  me  this  afternoon,  confirms  me  in  the  belief  that  the  State 
authorities  had  vindicated  the  law,  and  in  a  large  extent  arrested  the 
perpetrators  of  the  crime. 

The  cruel  murder  of  a  citizen  of  a  neighboring  State,  accompanied  by 
a  gross  outrage  on  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  in  the  resistance  of  its 
process,  has  been  committed,  and  you  may  be  assured  that,  as  the  guilty 
parties  are  ascertained,  they  will  be  punished  in  the  severest  penalty  by 
the  law  of  Pennsylvania.  I  am  very  proud  that  the  first  steps  to  detect 
and  arrest  these  offenders  have  been  taken  by  Pennsylvania  officers. 

Permit  me,  gentlemen,  having  thus  removed  all  just  cause  of  anxiety 
from  your  minds,  respectfully  to  suggest  that  the  idea  of  rebellion  or 
insurrectionary  movement  in  the  county  of  Lancaster  or  anywhere  else 
in  this  Commonwealth,  has  no  real  foundation,  and  it  is  an  offensive 
imputation  on  a  large  body  of  our  fellow  citizens.  There  is  no  insur- 
rectionary movement  in  Lancaster  County,  and  there  would  be  no  occa- 
sion to  march  a  military  force  there,  as  you  seem  to  desire,  and  inflame 
the  public  mind  by  any  such  strange  exaggeration.  I  do  not  wish  our 


POLITICAL    COEBESPONDENCE.  147 

breathren  of  the  Union  to  think  that  in  any  part  of  this  State  resistance 
to  the  law  goes  undetected  or  unpunished,  or  that  there  exists  such  a 
sentiment  as  treason  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution.  The  alleged 
murderers  of  Mr.  Gorsuch,  whose  crime  is  deep  enough  without  exagger- 
ating it,  have  been  arrested  and  will  be  tried,  and  they  and  their  abettors 
be  made  to  answer  for  what  they  have  done  in  contravention  of  law. 
But,  in  the  meantime,  let  me  invite  your  co-operation,  as  citizens  of 
Pennsylvania,  not  only  to  see  that  the  law  is  enforced,  but  to  add  to  the 
confidence  which  we  all  feel  in  the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  land,  by 
abstaining  from  undue  violence  of  language,  and  letting  the  law  take  its 
course.  Depend  upon  it,  gentlemen,  there  is  in  Lancaster  County  a  sense 
of  duty  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  manifested  in  the  early  and  prompt 
arrest  of  those  offenders,  which  will  on  all  occasions  show  itself  in  prac- 
tical obedience. 

The  people  of  that  county  are  men  of  peace  and  good  order,  and  are 
not  easily  led  aside  from  the  path  of  duty  which  the  Constitution  pre- 
scribes. They  and  every  Pennsylvanian  love  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union.  They  will  detect,  as  they  have  done  in  this  case,  and  arrest  and 
punish  all  who  violate  the  laws  of  the  land.  There  is  no  warrant,  depend 
upon  it,  for  representing  the  men  of  Lancaster  County  as  traitors,  and 
participants  in  an  insurrectionary  movement.  You  do  them,  uninten- 
tionally I  hope,  no  doubt,  great  injustice. 

I  am  deeply  indebted  to  you  for  affording  me  the  opportunity  of 
expressing  my  views.  But  for  your  communication,  I  might  not  have 
been  able  to  do  so.  You,  and  my  fellow-citizens  at  large,  may  be 
assured  of  my  firm  determination,  at  all  hazards  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  enforce  obe- 
dience to  the  laws,  alike  of  the  United  States  and  of  this  Commonwealth. 

In  order  that  I  may  be  sure  that  my  answer  may  reach  its  destination 
(your  letter  having  but  accidentally  come  to  my  hands)  I  have  requested 
Mr.  White  to  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  John  Cadwallader,  whose  signa- 
ture, I  observe,  is  first. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  F.  JOHNSTON. 

PROCLAMATION. 

In  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  I, 
William  F.  Johnston,  Governor  of  the  said  Commonwealth,  do  hereby 
issue  this  proclamation: 

WHEREAS,  it  has  been  represented  to  me  that  a  flagrant  violation  of 
the  public  peace  has  occurred  in  Lancaster  County,  involving  the  murder 
of  Edward  Gorsuch,  and  seriously  endangering  the  lives  of  other  persons ; 
and,  whereas,  it  has  also  been  represented  to  me  that  some  of  the  partici- 
pants in  this  outrage  are  yet  at  large;  now,  therefore,  by  virtue  of  the 
authority  in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution  and  laws,  I,  William  F.  John- 


148  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

ston,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  do  hereby  offer  a  reward  of  One  Thou- 
sand Dollars  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  the  person  or  persons  guilty 
of  the  murder  and  violation  of  the  peace  aforesaid. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  the 
great  seal  of  the  State,  this  fifteenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
Our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-one. 

WILLIAM  F.  JOHNSTON, 

Governor. 
Attest:    A.  L.  EUSSELL, 

Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 

SECOND  LETTER  TO  GOVERNOR  JOHNSTON. 

The  following  was  the  rejoinder  of  Messrs.  Cadwallader 
and  others  to  Governor  Johnston's  answer  to  them: 

PHILADELPHIA,  15th  September,  1851. 
To  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania: 

Sir:  We  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
yesterday,  which  came  to  hand  this  morning,  after  its  publication  in  one 
or  more  newspapers.  The  informality  which  you  mentioned,  of  the  deliv- 
ery of  our  communication,  to  which  it  is  a  reply,  through  the  servant  of 
the  hotel,  is  perhaps,  of  little  significance.  It  may  be  explained  and 
excused  by  stating  that  we  had  understood  that  the  paper  could  not  reach 
you  if  addressed  to  the  seat  of  government.  We  were  told  that  you  had, 
on  the  day  after  the  occurrence,  to  which  we  respectfully  solicited  your 
attention,  left  Harrisburg,  and  had  passed  the  scene  of  those  occurrences 
without  tarrying  there,  and  that  you  had  subsequently  been  at  this  place, 
and  afterwards  at  Heading.  The  messenger  entrusted  with  our  commu- 
nication was,  therefore,  left  to  his  own  course  to  deliver  it. 

We  are  thankful  for  the  promptness  of  your  reply,  but  regret  that 
you  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  more  accurate  information  on  the  sub- 
ject of  your  letter.  The  mistakes  in  the  general  statement  which  it  con- 
tains, that  the  parties  implicated  in  the  late  horrible  outrage  had  been 
arrested  and  were  in  confinement  is  partly  corrected  in  a  subsequent 
paragraph,  and  has  since  been  more  fully  corrected  in  your  proclamation 
of  the  morning !  The  more  important  errors  of  your  letter  will,  we  trust, 
be  as  publicly  corrected  when  you  shall  have  learned  that  treason  against 
the  United  States  was  perpetrated  successfully  within  the  territory  of 
Pennsylvania  on  Thursday  last.  You  will  then,  we  presume,  no  longer 
treat  the  offense  of  the  insurgents  as  though  the  homicide,  which  all 
deplore,  had  been  committed  by  them,  in  an  ordinary  tumult,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  an  armed  rebellion  against  the  law.  When  you  shall 
have  learned  that  the  latter  was  the  true  character  of  the  offense  com- 
mitted, you  will  probably  cease  to  censure  our  true  and  simple  definition 


POLITICAL    CORRESPONDENCE.  149 

of  the  crime  "as  offensive  imputation"  and  "a  strange  exaggeration." 
The  purpose  of  our  communication  has  been  entirely  misconceived  by 
you.  The  crime  which  has  been  perpetrated  in  our  immediate  neighbor- 
hood was  Treason,  in  preventing,  by  an  armed  resistance,  the  enforce- 
ment of  a  law  of  the  United  States.  Our  purpose  was  to  request  your 
attention  to  this  fact,  and  not  to  censure  the  local  police  of  a  county,  as 
you  suppose.  There  had  been  no  local  police  strong  enough  to  resist  an 
organized  band  of  armed  outlaws,  who  were  in  open  insurrection  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The  local  authorities  were  over- 
awed, and,  had  they  resisted  or  interfered,  would  have  been  overpowered. 
Forty-eight  hours  elapsed  before  they  were  so  reinforced  as  to  be  able  to 
visit  the  seat  of  the  disturbances.  The  insurgents  were  then  dispersed, 
as  their  evil  design  had  been  fatally  accomplished.  When  we  took  leave 
to  address  you  on  the  subject  we  exercised  the  undoubted  right  of  every 
citizen  on  such  an  occasion.  The  disposable  military  force  of  the  United 
States,  at  this  post,  had  then  been  sent  to  the  spot  where  the  unfortunate 
event  had  occurred.  Citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  were  in 
arms,  to  assist  in  the  lawful  enforcement  of  the  authority  of  the  General 
Government.  But  nothing  had  been  done  by  the  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania to  vindicate  the  outraged  honor  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  first 
act  of  State,  of  her  Executive,  is  a  proclamation  issued  four  days  after 
the  opponents  of  the  law  had  openly  accomplished  their  designs.  Your 
recapitulation  of  the  few  tardy  acts  of  previous  intervention,  including 
arrests  by  individual  officers,  shows  that  even  this  proclamation  would 
probably  not  have  been  issued  if  the  public  feeling  of  indignation  on  the 
subject  had  not  been  manifested.  At  the  crisis  at  which  our  communi- 
cation to  you  was  written,  there  were  peculiar  reasons  for  public  notoriety, 
which  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  specify,  that  the  insurgents  should  be 
deprived  of  the  pretext  of  an  excuse  or  palliation  of  their  guilt,  in  the 
supposed  sympathy  or  indifference  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. As  you  have  seen  proper  to  answer  this  communication,  we 
are  justified  in  observing  that  it  afforded  you  an  ample  opportunity  for 
the  removal  of  all  doubts  upon  this  material  point.  This  might  have 
been  done  in  words,  though  the  timely  adoption  of  the  proper  active 
measures  had  been  neglected.  Under  these  circumstances  that  any  citi- 
zens, however  humble,  should  have  been  unadvisedly  reprimanded  by  the 
officers  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  particularly  by  her  Chief  Magistrate, 
for  exercising  their  rights  to  address  him  respectfully,  is  a  matter  of 
subordinate  importance,  which  we  do  not  pause  to  consider. 

It  is  of  more  importance  that  your  answer  has  been  published  by  your- 
self. Its  tone  and  spirit — and  that  of  the  Proclamation  which  has  fol- 
lowed it — whether  responsive  to,  or  evasive  of,  the  public  feeling — are 
a  proper  subject  of  consideration  by  the  citizens  of  the  State.  We 
believe  that  those  enemies  of  the  United  States,  whose  acts  you  chari- 
tably deny  to  be  treasonable  or  insurrectionary,  threaten  and  intend  to 


150  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

re-enact  them  if  a  like  occasion  should  arrive.  We  believe  that  your 
letter  will  afford  them  encouragement  in  their  lawless  designs.  We 
understand  it  is  a  declaration  of  your  opinion  that  there  should  be  no 
change  in  the  course  of  the  State  Government,  and  that  no  public  meas- 
ures of  State  are  required  in  order  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  late 
bloody  outrage. 

As  we  do  not  feel  ourselves  at  liberty  to  extend  this  discussion  beyond 
the  immediate  subject  of  correspondence,  we  have  concluded  with  the 
expression  of  the  great  respect  with  which  we  remain 
Your  most  obedient  servants, 

JOHN  CADWALLADEE, 

JAMES  PAGE, 

S.  LEACH,  JR., 

EICHABD  SIMPSON, 

SAMUEL  HAYS, 

S.  E.  CAENAHAN, 

W.  DEAL, 

JOHN  W.  FOENEY, 

for  themselves  and  others. 

MARYLAND'S  GOVERNOR  ALARMED. 

From  the  letter  of  Governor  Lowe  of  Maryland  to  Presi- 
dent Fillmore,  September  18,  1851. 

"From  the  very  beginning  Maryland  has,  with  one  voice,  sustained  the 
compromise  measures.  No  man  has  dared  to  raise  the  flag  of  disunion 
within  her  border.  All  parties  have  united  in  defense  of  the  Constitution. 
All  classes  of  our  citizens  have  renewed  their  vows  of  fealty  to  the  insti- 
tutions of  their  fathers.  Maryland  has,  therefore,  a  moral  weight  with 
the  South,  which  armies  and  navies  cannot  give.  It  would  be  terrible, 
indeed,  if  she  should,  under  any  combination  of  circumstances,  be  drawn 
to  place  herself  at  the  head  of  a  column  of  secession.  Her  declaration 
of  disunion  would  be  fatal.  Where  would  Virginia  be?  Where,  in  fact, 
every  Southern  State?  The  result  is  too  terrible  for  contemplation. 
And  yet,  Sir,  we  must  look  the  contingency  right  in  the  face.  Do  not 
understand  me  as  intimating  that  such  disaster  is  upon  us.  Far  from  it. 
Heaven  forefend  it. 

"But  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  tell  you  that  our  people  are  deeply 
and  justly  exasperated.  It  is  proper  that  you  should  be  frankly  assured 
that  nothing  can,  or  will,  or  ought  to,  satisfy  them  but  the  most  prompt, 
thorough,  and  severe  retribution  upon  the  perpetrators  of  the  murderous 
treason  recently  committed  in  Pennsylvania.  I  am  rejoiced  to  be  in- 
formed that  those  worthy  and  patriotic  Judges,  Grier  and  Kane,  have 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  crime  amounts  to  treason  against  the 
Federal  Government,  cognizable,  therefore,  by  the  Federal  Courts  and 


POLITICAL    CORRESPONDENCE.  151 

punishable  under  the  Federal  laws.  This  gives  me  confidence  that  justice 
will  be  done,  speedily  and  fully.  Our  people  will  wait  with  all  reasonable 
patience  and  confidence  to  see  the  issue.  This  faith  in  the  power  of  the 
Federal  Government,  as  well  as  in  its  good  intentions,  will  necessarily 
be  governed  by  results. 

"Nor  is  that  all:  If  passion  and  prejudice  should  control  the  verdicts 
of  Pennsylvania  juries,  in  the  trial  of  this  issue,  I  tremble  for  the  Union. 
One  thing  is  very  clear,  and  it  is  this,  that  Maryland  would  not  remain 
one  day  in  the  Confederacy,  if  finally  assured  either  that  the  powers  of 
the  Federal  Government  were  inadequate,  or  that  the  public  opinion  of 
the  non-slave  holding  States  was  adverse  to  the  protection  of  the  rights, 
liberties  and  lives  of  our  citizens.  If  the  Union  is  to  be  merely  a  union 
of  minority  slaves  to  majority  tyrants,  then,  indeed,  our  government  has 
failed  in  the  end  of  its  creation,  and  the  sooner  it  is  dissolved  the  better. 
This,  I  assure  you,  Sir,  is  the  sentiment  of  the  patriotic  South,  the  Con- 
servative South,  the  Union-loving  South.  I  am  not  obtruding  upon  your 
Excellency  my  views  and  opinions.  I  am  plainly  unfolding  the  views 
and  sentiments  of  a  people  with  whom  I  am  well  acquainted.  It  is 
important  that  I  should  do  so — it  is  necessary  that  I  should  do  so.  I 
fear  the  latent  causes  of  dissolution  more  than  those  which  have  hereto- 
fore agitated  the  surface  of  the  waters.  I  fear  that  the  North  does  not 
believe  in  the  possibility  of  disunion.  Fatal  incredulity.  If  they  could 
be  made  to  believe  it  possible  it  would  then,  indeed,  be  impossible.  But 
their  disbelief  renders  it  ever  probable.  Believing  it  to  be  afar  off,  and 
ever  receeding,  they  act  in  a  manner  which  will  precipitate  the  crisis,  as 
surely,  as  it  will  be,  to  them  unexpected.  I  do  not  know  of  a  single 
incident  that  has  occurred  since  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  measures, 
which  tends  more  to  weaken  the  bonds  of  union,  and  arouse  dark  thoughts 
in  the  minds  of  men,  than  this  late  tragedy.  Nor  will  its  influence  and 
effects  be  limited  within  the  narrow  borders  of  our  State.  They  will 
penetrate  the  soul  of  the  South.  They  will  silence  the  confident  prom- 
ises of  the  Union  men  and  give  force  to  the  appeals  of  Secessionists. 
They  will  enter  into  the  agitations  of  the  next  Congress,  and  weaken  the 
public  hope  everywhere.  For  all  these  evils,  there  is  but  a  single  cor- 
rective, and  that  is,  the  most  complete  vindication  of  the  laws  and  the 
fullest  retribution  upon  the  criminals. ' ' 


COMMEMORATION  OF  THE  CHRISTIANA  RIOT 
AND  THE  TREASON  TRIALS  OF  1851. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Lancaster  County  Historical 
Society  in  Christiana,  Pa.,  on  Saturday,  September  9,  1911, 
there  was  held  a  Commemoration  of  the  events  narrated  in 
this  history.  Despite  a  heavy  downpour  of  rain  there  was 
an  unprecedented  concourse  of  people  assembled  in  the  town 
at  an  early  hour  and  they  continued  to  participate  in  the 
exercises  until  they  concluded.  Through  some  mishap  of 
transportation  the  monument  to  have  been  dedicated  did  not 
arrive  in  time  to  be  erected  and  formally  unveiled,  but  the 
base  having  been  completed,  the  ceremonies  took  place  thereon 
and  around  it;  and  the  massive  shaft  was  put  in  place  on 
the  following  Monday,  the  exact  anniversary  day.  By  rea- 
son of  the  weather  conditions  the  parade  also  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  the  literary  exercises  were  held  in  the  M.  E. 
Church,  the  following  programme  being  carried  out: 


Invocation    EEV.  E.  F.  WRIGHT,  of  Zion  A.  M. 

E.  Church. 

Music,  ' '  America  "  CHRISTIANA  CORNET  BAND. 

Presentation    B.  C.  ATLEE,  ESQ. 

Music,  "  Star  Spangled  Banner "..  CHRISTIANA  CORNET  BAND. 
Acknowledgment  CHARLES    S.    SLOKOM,    Burgess    of 

Christiana. 

Music,  "Dixie"  CHRISTIANA  CORNET  BAND. 

Doxology,  ' '  Old  Hundred. ' ' 

Benediction   EEV.  A.  T.  STEWART,  of  Christiana 

Presbyterian  Church. 
II. 

11  A.M.  Automobile  trip  to  the  "Eiot  House";  by  Bridge  Street  to 
Noble  Eoad;  thence  to  Second  Cross  Eoads,  turning  to  right  at  road 
to  Brinton's  Mill,  down  hill  to  corner  of  New  Valley  Eoad;  south  of 
bridge  turn  to  right  and  by  John  H.  Eanck's  and  B.  F.  Leaman's  (on 
which  farm  Hanway's  "red  mill"  stood — note  Hanway's  house,  now 

152 


COMMEMORATION    OF    THE    EIOT.  153 

vacant,  on  right),  Samuel  Sheaffer's,  Agnes  Lantz's  (note  streamer  at 
site  of  old  Eiot  House),  Levi  Pownall's  heirs  (house  on  right  where 
Dickinson  Gorsuch  was  nursed),  Edward  Johnson 'sand  Joseph  S.  Davis 's, 
to  Noble  Boad;  up  road  through  P.  E.  E.  arch  to  Bridge  Street  and 
Christiana. 

III. 

11.30  A.M.  to  1.30  P.M.  Luncheon.     Served  in  the  basement  of  M.  E. 
Church,  by  ladies  of  the  Church. 

IV. 
AFTERNOON  PROGRAMME. 

Opening  Prayer  EEV.  T.   S.  MINKER,  of  Christiana 

M.  E.  Church. 

Music,  "My  Old  Kentucky  Home," 
accompanied  by  Burger's  Fourth 

Eegiment  Band   VOCAL  CHORUS. 

Address  of  Welcome  THOMAS"  WHITSON,  ESQ. 

Music,  "Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the 

Ocean"    BURGER'S  FOURTH  EEGIMENT  BAND. 

Introduction    Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ar- 
rangements. 

Commemoration  Address   EEV.  DR.  HENRY  J.  COUDEN,  Chap- 
lain of  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives  of  the  United  States. 
Presentation  of  Memorial  Medals..  H.  FRANK  ESHLEMAN,  ESQ. 

To  Mrs.  F.  G.  Mitchell,  followed  by  Band  selection,  "Mary- 
land, My  Maryland." 

To  Peter  Woods,  followed  by  "Old  Black  Joe." 
Music,  "Star  Spangled  Banner"  ..BURGER'S  FOURTH  EEGIMENT  BAND. 

Short  Addresses  GOVERNOR  JOHN  K.   TENER;    HON. 

M.  E.  OLMSTEAD,  Congressman; 
HON.  F.  B.  McCLAiN,  Mayor  of 
Lancaster;  HON.  W.  C.  SPROUL, 
of  Chester,  State  Senator ;  FRANCIS 
FISHER  KANE,  ESQ.,  of  Philadel- 
phia. 

Vocal  Chorus,  "Suanee  Eiver" BURGER'S  FOURTH  EEGIMENT  BAND. 

Benediction EEV.  CLIFTON  HARRIS,  of  the  Atglen 

Baptist  Cruch. 

THE  MEMOBIAL  MEDALS. 

The  memorial  medals  which  were  the  subjects  of  the  pres- 
entation were  especially  designed  by  the  engravers  of  the 


154  THE    CHRISTIANA    RIOT. 

United  States  Mint,  at  Philadelphia.  Both  are  massive  cir- 
cular pieces  of  silver,  three  inches  in  diameter  and  one  fourth 
of  an  inch  thickness  of  rim. 

The  one  presented  to  Mrs.  Mitchell,  granddaughter  of 
Edward  Gorsuch,  represents  the  "Law"  side  of  the  senti- 
ments involved  in  the  celebration.  It  bears  the  profile  bust 
of  Millard  Fillmore,  under  whose  administration  as  Presi- 
dent the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  passed,  and  by  the  direc- 
tion of  whose  Cabinet  treason  trials  were  instituted  and  con- 
ducted. On  the  reverse  side  is  engrossed : 

In  memory  of  Edward  Gorsuch.  Commemoration  of  Christiana  Kiot 
and  Treason  Trials.  1851— September  11—1911. 

The  one  presented  to  Peter  Woods  represents  the  idea  of 
"Liberty,"  and  bears  a  magnificent  relief  head  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  on  the  other  side  the  inscription : 

Peter  Woods.  Freeman,  Soldier,  Citizen.  Sole  survivor  of  the  Chris- 
tiana Eiot  and  Treason  Trials.  1851— September  11—1911. 

SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  MEDALS. 

In  making  presentation  of  the  memorial  medals  Mr.  Eshle- 
man  spoke  as  follows : 

Descendants  of  Edward  Gorsuch  and  Ladies  and  Gentle- 
men: The  good  citizen  not  only  obeys  and  upholds  the  law, 
but  also  accepts  its  guarantees  and  entrusts  himself  to  its 
protection.  Trust  and  confidence  in  the  law  and  the  free  use 
of  its  benefits  are  as  patriotic  an  attitude  toward  a  govern- 
ment and  as  true  a  mark  of  allegiance  as  support  of  an  obedi- 
ence to  the  law.  Faith  and  trust  in  law — confident  reliance 
upon  the  law — are  vastly  greater  security  to  a  nation  than 
mere  cold  obedience  of  law.  Faith  is  primary;  obedience 
secondary.  Faith,  causal;  obedience,  consequent.  So  long 
as  there  be  faith  and  trust  in  law,  there  can  be  no  violation — 
no  mob.  Faith  sweetens  obedience.  Though  law  be  short, 
ineffectual,  slow  of  remedy,  faith  in  it,  as  it  stands,  is  the 
citizen's  immediate  duty;  patience  and  amendment,  his  line 
of  action — not  terrorism,  violence  and  mob  rule. 


AT  HOME. 

ETER  WOODS,  AGED  80,  SOLE  8URVUOR  OF  THE  CHRISTIANA  RIOT,   RECIPIENT  OF  THE  COMMEMORATION  MEDAL. 
"  FREEMAN,  SOLDIER,  CITIZEN." 


COMMEMORATION    OF    THE    EIOT.  155 

The  most  needed  lesson  in  America  to-day  is  faith  in  the 
enacted  law.  They  who  live  for  the  law  and  they  who  die 
for  the  law  are  the  nation's  great  and  greater  heroes.  Law 
and  love  of  God  are  our  nation's  hope. 

Edward  Gorsuch  believed  in  the  law — he  believed  in  a  law 
that  was  odious  to  two-thirds  of  our  people — he  tried  to  prove 
its  promises.  Disaster  befell  him.  He  died  for  the  law 
sixty  years  ago  near  this  spot.  To  his  granddaughter,  Mrs. 
F.  G.  Mitchell,  the  Lancaster  County  Historical  Society 
and  its  friends,  through  me,  presents  this  medal;  not  as  a 
minute  of  our  views  upon  his  particular  act,  but  as  an  expres- 
sion of  our  approval  of  the  principle  his  action  exemplified, 
"willingness  to  die  for  the  law." 

Venerable  Peter  Woods  and  Friends  of  Liberty  Under 
the  Law:  True  liberty  is  license  so  far  restrained  by  law  as  is 
necessary  to  protect  the  rights  of  all.  Law  and  license  are 
the  quantities  that,  from  the  beginning  of  time,  have  ever 
hung  on  the  opposite  ends  of  the  trembling  scales  of  justice. 
Equity  is  the  soul  of  law  and  liberty  is  the  apotheosis  of 
equity. 

Law  is  not  always  truly-reflected  public  opinion.  Law 
is  sometimes  better  and  sometimes  worse  than  public  opinion. 
But  law  at  its  worst,  in  a  popular  government,  is  generally 
better  than  public  opinion  at  its  best.  Sovereign  rule  must 
be  reliable  as  well  as  righteous — firm  as  well  as  good.  Law 
more  nearly  typifies  these  qualities  than  public  opinion.  Law 
is  stable;  popular  fancy  is  variable — law  is  calm;  the  mood 
of  the  mass,  emotional. 

As  law  is  not  always  popular,  neither  is  law  always  right, 
nor  just.  But  law  is  always  law.  Republics  rest  upon  rep- 
resentative rule.  The  people  of  republics  act  through  elected 
agents.  The  agents'  will  is  law — they  bind  us.  The  enacted 
law  is  a  barrier  against  popular  instability  as  well  as  a  bul- 
wark against  tyranny.  The  law  cannot  be  used  to  lend  sanc- 
tion to  the  fitful  tides  of  popular  emotion  any  more  than  the 
compass  needle  can  be  used  for  a  weather  vane. 


156  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

But  the  law  can  be  changed,  improved,  annulled.  Liberty, 
the  spirit  and  genius  of  all  true  law,  can,  in  an  orderly  or 
in  a  revolutionary  way  upheave  and  overturn  all  wicked  and 
ill-conceived  enactments.  It  can  shake  continents  to  their 
centers — it  can  convulse  a  world  to  its  core. 

Venerable  Peter  Woods,  aged  representative  of  a  liberated 
race,  the  Lancaster  County  Historical  Society  and  its  friends 
have  seen  in  you  and  in  the  part  you  took  in  the  Octoraro 
Valley  skirmish  of  the  struggle  that  wrecked  and  reunited 
America — the  shock  that  shook  the  world — a  true  monument 
of  what  liberty  can  do  by  the  help  of  God.  And  they  present 
to  you  now,  through  me,  this  medal,  as  a  public  object  lesson 
and  as  an  opportunity  to  attest  their  approval  of  the  motto 
to  which  your  conduct  sixty  years  ago  on  these  acres,  entitles 
you,  "  He  Suffered  For  Liberty." 


THE  MEMOBIAL. 

This  monument  is  a  massive  three  ton  shaft  of  Barre  (Vt.),  granite; 
it  stands  eleven  feet  above  the  sidewalk,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
splendid  subway  erected  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  in  the 
borough  of  Christiana  and  formally  opened  on  the  day  of  the  Commemora- 
tion. This  view  is  from  the  northeast  and  presents  the  memorial  to 
Edward  Gorsuch  who  "died  for  Law"  and  to  Castner  Hanway  who 
"suffered  for  freedom."  On  the  other  faces  are  inscribed  the  dates  of 
the  Riot  and  of  the  Trial,  and  the  names  of  all  the  38  defendants  in  the 
Treason  Cases. 


COMMITTEES   ON   COMMEMORATION. 

Officers  of  the  Lancaster  County  Historical  Society. 
— President,  George  Steinman;  Vice-Presidents,  F.  R.  Dif- 
fenderffer,  Litt.D.,  W.  U.  Hensel,  LL.D. ;  Secretary,  Charles 
B.  Hollinger;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Miss  Martha  B. 
Clark;  Treasurer,  A.  K.  Hostetter;  Librarian,  Charles  T. 
Steigerwalt;  Assistant  Librarian,  Miss  Lottie  M.  Bailsman; 
Executive  Committee,  A.  K.  Hostetter,  W.  TJ.  Hensel,  D.  F. 
Magee,  Geo.  F;  K.  Erisman,  D.  B.  Landis,  H.  Frank  Eshle- 
man,  Monroe  B.  Hirsh,  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Carpenter,  Miss  Lottie 
M.  Bausman,  L.  B.  Herr,  John  L.  Summy,  Mrs.  M.  N. 
Robinson. 

Arrangements  Committee. — W.  U.  Hensel,  Chairman; 
H.  Frank  Eshleman,  Secretary;  B.  C.  Atlee,  Treasurer;  J. 
Guy  Eshleman,  Clerk. 

Local  Committee. — Dr.  L.  W.  Pownall,  Chairman; 
Charles  S.  Slokom,  Secretary;  Roy  H.  Passmore,  Treasurer; 
Calvin  Carter,  E.  G.  Broomell,  Thos.  Whitson,  J.  D.  Hast- 
ings, Wm.  Fielis,  M.  P.  Cooper,  M.  K.  Hammond,  Dr.  T.  S. 
Irwin,  J.  G.  Mast,  Marvin  E.  Bushong,  Geo.  S.  Hartman, 
Amos  Gilbert,  J.  A.  Harrar,  Dr.  O.  H.  Paxson,  P.  E.  Han- 
num,  James  H.  Whiteside,  A.  J.  Melcher,  Edw.  J.  Knox, 
Thomas  McGowan,  Fred.  Brinton,  Dr.  J.  R.  Martin,  Frank 
M.  Trout,  Robert  S.  McClure,  B.  Frank  Leaman,  M.  J. 
Brinton,  George  W.  Hensel,  Jr.,  Samuel  J.  Nixon,  Frank 
Walter,  E.  H.  Keen,  Jones  Eavenson,  Edwin  Trout,  J.  F. 
Reynolds,  W.  D.  Swisher,  H.  L.  Skiles,  Samuel  Carter,  Wm. 
Chamberlin,  Wm.  Hopkins. 

Honorary  Reception  Committee. — George  Steinman, 
Hon.  J.  Hay  Brown,  Hon.  E.  G.  Smith,  Hon.  W.  W.  Griest, 
Hon.  John  G.  Homsher,  Hon.  H.  L.  Rhoads,  Charles  E. 
157 


158  THE    CHRISTIANA    EIOT. 

Pugh,  Ambrose  Pownall,  Cyrus  Brinton,  Thomas  Hirst, 
James  P.  Marsh,  Brinton  Walter,  Win.  McGowan,  Sr.,  M. 
B.  Kent,  F.  R.  Diffenderffer,  Francis  Lennox,  Dr.  H.  Mc- 
Gowan, George  Steele,  W.  S.  Hastings,  Hon.  A.  B.  Hassler, 
Hon.  Thos.  S.  Butler,  Hon.  W.  C.  Sproul,  Hon.  F.  B.  Mc- 
Clain,  Joseph  C.  Walker,  Morris  Cooper,  W.  P.  Brinton, 
Thos.  J.  Phillips,  D.  F.  Magee,  Hon.  C.  I.  Landis,  James  M. 
Walker,  Gilbert  Bushong,  Benjamin  Eavenson,  Peter  Woods, 
Samuel  Whitson,  William  L.  Jackson,  H.  R.  Fulton,  H.  C. 
Hopkins,  Rev.  R.  F.  Wright,  Chas.  Dingee,  Henry  Preston, 
S.  R.  Slaymaker,  A.  K.  Hostetter. 

[The  End] 


Form  L-9-35r, 


- 


Ill  I/Ml  IHIII/Mi, 


